Tax & Legal Update
General meeting’s consent with substantial asset transfers surrounded by dilemmas
One of the powers of the general meeting of a limited liability or joint-stock company is to give consent to transfer or pledge a business establishment or its part “that would result in a substantial change to the company’s existing structure,…
SAC on how to interpret double taxation treaties
If a double taxation treaty can be applied, the tax administrator may not automatically use domestic legal regulations to interpret a treaty’s individual concepts but must apply international law principles and the commentaries to the OECD’s Model…
Research and development allowance for clinical studies
In a recent judgement, the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) held that a research and development allowance had been claimed unlawfully, as the project in question had no element of novelty. The SAC dealt with the third phase of clinical research…
October ECOFIN meeting: quick VAT fixes
In addition to the generalised reverse charge mechanism, other important VAT changes were agreed on at the October meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN). These involve quick fixes and the application of a reduced rate to e…
Uniform interpretation of crypto assets at hand?
An important voice has joined the pending discussions regarding the nature of crypto assets, i.e. virtual currencies, various tokens and initial coin offerings (ICO). In mid-October, a working group of the European Securities and Markets Authority …
Significant amendment to Labour Code returns
In August, the government began to discuss a document that will undoubtedly be familiar to some lawmakers and the professional public. A large amendment to the Labour Code, which the Chamber of Deputies in its previous structure did not have time to…
Courts clarify conditions for awarding interest on tax administrator’s wrongful…
Winning a dispute with the tax authority may be compensated by interest awarded on the grounds of the tax administrator’s unlawful conduct. Its amount equals the Czech National Bank’s repo rate plus 14 percentage points, which means that it…
Ministry of Finance prepares legal tool regulating tax relations with Taiwan
For an external comment procedure, the Ministry of Finance has submitted a bill to prevent double taxation in relation to Taiwan. As the Czech Republic does not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, it is not possible to enter into a double…
Another step towards EU copyright reform
The media has recently been overflowing with news about the European Parliament approving a directive on copyright on the internet, including articles about a threat to freedom on the internet or the end of the internet in its current form. What…
Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office updates methodology for corporate exoneration
Public prosecutors have so far lacked a tool to assess whether a corporate entity’s internal measures and efforts to prevent criminal activity are sufficient to avoid the entity’s criminal liability for their employees’ wrongdoings. An updated…
2019 amendment to VAT Act: changes to original wording
The 2019 amendment to the VAT Act, discussed in the previous issues of our Tax and Legal Update, has undergone a number of first changes, including, e.g., a change in the General Financial Directorate’s approach to the adjustment of VAT relating to…
TRIO programme accepting applications within the fourth call
The Ministry of Industry and Trade announced the fourth call to participate in the TRIO subsidy programme, focusing on support of operating expenses for industrial research and experimental development projects. Compared with the previous calls, the…