News in brief, June 2023

DOMESTIC NEWS

• The government's amendment to the Act on Extraordinary Waivers of Penalties on Social Security Insurance No. 181/2023 was published in the Collection of Laws.
• In its third reading, the chamber of deputies approved an amendment to the Labour Code (Print No. 423), transposing EU legislation and regulating telework and rules for workers under agreements outside employment. Some amending proposals submitted in the second reading were also approved. However, the senate subsequently returned the bill with further amending proposals.
• According to information from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, from 1 July humanitarian benefits shall be regarded as allowances for costs associated with both living and housing needs. Solidarity household allowances will no longer be paid. This results from an amendment to Lex Ukraine.
• The government approved an increase of CZK 50,000 in the parental allowance and a reduction in its drawing period to three years. It also approved a modification enabling the further digitisation and simplification of administration in the state social aid agenda.
• The chamber of deputies discussed the consolidation package in the first reading on 14 July 2023. The deadline for discussion in committees was shortened to 50 days. The second reading will therefore probably not take place until the beginning of September.
• On 27 July 2023, the senate approved an amendment to the Excise Duty Act that restores the excise duty rate on diesel fuel to its original level of CZK 9.95 per litre. The amendment was promulgated in the Collection of Laws on 31 July 2023 and entered into effect on 1 August 2023.
• The Ministry of Finance issued a report on the activities of the financial administration and customs administration for 2022.
• Financial Bulletin 9/2023 contains a list of countries exchanging country-by-country reports (CbCR) in accordance with the Act on International Cooperation in Tax Matters.

FOREIGN NEWS

• The European Commission has published its Annual Tax Report for 2023, providing an overview of the state of taxation and tax systems in the EU.
• The Commission is evaluating the application of EU Council Regulation 2022/1854, on emergency intervention to address high energy prices. It will report its main findings to the Council by 15 October 2023. The regulation introduced the possibility to apply contributions and levies relating to windfall profits and revenues in selected sectors as a result of the energy crisis.
• In addition to the final documents on Pillar 2, the OECD has released for comment draft rules for the application of tax on intra-group payments for management services, interest, royalties and similar payments where the recipient of the payment is from a country with a nominal tax rate of less than 9%, and a draft document for the determination of the arm's length fee for marketing and distribution services under Pillar 1 (changes to taxing rights on the sale of goods and services).