In line with expectations, the tax burden has therefore fallen compared to last year. In absolute terms, the average employee now pays a curious CZK 666 more per month to the state than last year (not adjusted for inflation), but this is only due to the growth in average wages.
The solutions to combat inflation that Danuše Nerudová proposes are not good ones. A price cap on energy can lead to nothing but shortages. Financially incentivizing households and industry to reduce energy consumption is useless in a world of market prices.
The European Union often struggles with their external policy making, the EU wants a common, thus strong, and reliable external policy, but the member states always had a different point of view.
The August issue of the 4liberty.eu Newsletter provides an overview of the articles published on the 4liberty.eu website, serving as a starting point for further exploration.
In this episode, we talk about EU foreign policy, the European response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, why the EU Council should turn to majority voting on foreign policy, and how to adapt EU institutions to the tasks ahead in light of the prospective enlargement.
In recent weeks, the topic of Russian travel into the European Union has become the subject of public debate in Estonia and Finland. Many Russians are taking advantage of the fact that the Finns lifted the pandemic restrictions this July as the opening of the Finnish-Russian border is an opportunity for them to use Finland as a transit point to other European countries.
There are private solutions, for healthcare, schools, and transport. They are popular or at least coveted. Yet, there is a catch. The state always lurks beneath the surface. Many taxi companies are owned by cronies and have a huge lobbying power. There is a fixed rate and no competition in Budapest.
In 2021, public expenditure per capita in Poland for the first time exceeded the amount of PLN 30,000. It accounted for 44.2% of GDP - less than the year before when the pandemic hit, but still much more than in 2019. Since 2015, public spending in Poland has increased in real terms by over 35%.