OtherOther Economy

Poll: Simplified Tax System Would Be Slovakia\'s Competitive Advantage

Bratislava, June 23 (TASR) - It is the tax system which should become Slovakia's competitive advantage in the struggle for foreign investors, according to a poll carried out by tax consultancy BMB Leitner in co-operation with the American Business Chamber in Slovakia, Slovak-German Trade and Industrial Chamber and Slovak-Austrian Trade Chamber in May and published on Wednesday.… read more

Names of Future Ministers Still Unknown, but Coalition Agreement Ready

Bratislava, June 23 (TASR) - Representatives of centre-right parties SDKU-DS, Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), Christian Democrats (KDH) and Most-Hid on Wednesday agreed on the wording of the coalition agreement, but the details of how the portfolios will be divided remains unknown. "Each of is has laid out our visions and expectations and we'll continue on Thursday," said… read more

Ryanair Opens New Lines from Bratislava to Italy and Spain

Bratislava, June 23 (TASR) - Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair is opening new lines from Bratislava's M.R. Stefanik Airport. This time it is southern European destinations that were picked, with the first flight to Malaga, Spain dispatched on Wednesday, while the first take-off for Alghero, Italy is scheduled for Thursday. Flights to both Malaga and Alghero are scheduled… read more

Analysts: Cutting Deficit under 5.5 percent of GDP Impossible This Year

Bratislava, June 23 (TASR) - It isn't possible to reach the planned deficit of 5.5 percent of GDP by the end of the year at the current setting of public finance expenditures given the considerable loss in the state incomes, analysts approached by TASR on Wednesday agree. Outgoing Finance Minister Jan Pociatek admitted earlier on the same day that the deficit will reach… read more

Centre-right Parties Start to Divvy Up Ministries

Bratislava, June 23 (TASR) - Leaders of the four future coalition parties - SDKU-DS, Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), Christian Democrats (KDH) and Most-Hid - met on Wednesday in order to set about dividing executive posts, based on the proportion of votes garnered. First of all, they have to decide how many members will the future government have. Two versions appear to… read more

Radicova: Forming New Government Won\'t Take Us Long

Bratislava, June 23 (TASR) - Prime Minister designate Iveta Radicova on Wednesday confirmed that names of ministers of her Cabinet will certainly be known by Thursday, July 8, which is the deadline set by President Ivan Gasparovic for forming a new Government. According to her, four centre-right parties SDKU-DS, SaS, KDH and Most-Hid will reach the final agreement on… read more

State to Help Local Administration to Offset Low Tax Incomes

Bratislava, June 23 (TASR) - The state is likely to have to provide financial support to local councils this year, Finance Minister Jan Pociatek said following a Government session on Wednesday. However, any financial support will be up to the incoming government, as the current Cabinet has been left with no time for such negotiations, he added. Towns and villages… read more

Finance Ministry Raises Deficit Forecast for 2010 to 6.98 percent

Bratislava, June 23 (TASR) - The Finance Ministry on Wednesday raised its forecast for this year's public-finance deficit as a result of what it says are worse-than-expected tax revenues. As part of his outlook, Finance Minister Jan Pociatek forecast an end-of-year public-finance deficit of 6.98 percent, up from last year's 6.8 percent and the ministry's earlier prediction… read more

Gasparovic Tasks Radicova With Forming Government

Bratislava, June 23 (TASR) - Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic on Wednesday gave SDKU-DS election leader Iveta Radicova the task of forming a new government. Gasparovic did so after Robert Fico, chairman of the election winner Smer-SD, returned the mandate that he received on Monday, June 14. Despite gaining 34.79 percent of the vote, Fico's party was unable to form a… read more

2009 Public Administration Debt Rose by 8 p.p. to Nearly 36 percent

Bratislava, June 23 (TASR) - Slovakia's public administration debt in 2009 stood at €22.58 billion, or 35.7 percent of GDP, according to the public administration closing account that was approved by the Government on Wednesday. The debt-to-GDP ratio went up by 8.1 percent year-on-year, according to a document drafted by the Finance Ministry. According to the… read more

Slovakia Records Europe\'s Sharpest Y-o-Y Drop in Road Deaths in 2009

Brussels, June 22 (TASR-correspondent) - Slovakia saw the sharpest year-on-year drop in road fatalities from among 30, mostly EU-member countries in 2009, according to a report released by the European Transport Safety Council on Tuesday. Slovakia recorded a 36-percent drop (down from 606 deaths in 2008 to 385 in 2009), followed by Lithuania, Denmark and Estonia (26,… read more

FoE-CEPA Urges Radicova to Halt \"Overpriced PPP Highway Projects\"

Ponicka Huta, June 22 (TASR) - Friends of the Earth-CEPA and other civic organisations grouped within Ekoforum are urging the likely new Prime Minister Iveta Radicova to make sure that the new Government will immediately halt the squandering of public money vis-a-vis public-private partnership (PPP) highway construction projects, TASR learnt on Tuesday. According to the… read more

Average of €516,000 per Working Day Collected in E-Toll in May

Bratislava, June 22 (TASR) - An average of €516,000 per working day was collected in the electronic road toll system in May, Lenka Lendacka from SkyToll, the system's operator, told TASR on Tuesday. As far as the entire month of May is concerned, a total of €7.2 million was collected in road toll, with €4.85 million tolled on selected stretches of 1st class roads… read more

It Takes More Than A Year on Average for the Unemployed to Find a New Job

Bratislava, June 21 (TASR) - An unemployed Slovak spends more than 13 months on average finding a new job, according to a report released by the Labour, Social Affairs and the Family Centre (UPSVaR) on Monday. The period of registration with job centres has gone up by 2.67 months year-on-year. "It's a practical reflection of the fact that the slight stabilisation on the… read more

Centre-Right Parties to Start Official Negotiations on Tuesday

Bratislava, June 21 (TASR) - Representatives of the centre-right parties SDKU-DS, Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) and Most-Hid will meet on Tuesday (June 22) to discuss the new coalition agreement. "Tuesday's discussions will be about formulating a manifesto, and also a prologue to dividing responsibilities vis-a-vis government and parliament,"… read more