competitiveness

I recently attended a discussion on Europe’s competitiveness. There was unanimous agreement that we are lagging behind in all applied technologies—perhaps with the sole exception of the pharmaceutical industry. The reflexive response from the participants was: “We’ve created a fund for that.” Too few startups? Create a startup fund.Weak AI performance? An AI innovation fund!

The European Union is debating a directive that would place a minimum effective corporate income tax (CIT) of 15 percent on large-scale company groups. The directive is expected to address tax challenges caused by digitalization.

Lithuania ranks 6th in the 2021 International Tax Competitiveness Index presented by the US-based Tax Foundation. Estonia maintains the top ranking and the neighboring Latvia comes second, followed by New Zealand, Switzerland and Luxembourg.

Lithuania’s tax system is ranked the sixth most competitive and neutral in the OECD according to the Tax Foundation’s International Tax Competitiveness Index 2020 which was released on October 15.

The Slovak government’s intention is to lower the market power of large international retail chains. Unfortunately, the alleged problems are mostly made-up. Instead, the \"retail chain tax\" may end up raising the food prices and wrecking havoc in Slovak retail.

The competitiveness of a country’s tax system is instrumental in creating a favorable environment for foreign direct investment, stimulating business, and advancing societal well-being. Competition based on endogenous factors should not be perceived as unjust or unnatural.

Do not be fooled by the vast yellow fields of rapeseed in Slovakia. The agricultural sector is a zombie, living on subsidies instead of fresh brains. There are a few exceptions (like the successful tomato growers), but the overall numbers are harsh.

In his first parliamentary speech, PM Mateusz Morawiecki repeated many theses of the government. Some of them are wrong and contradict the experiences of other countries. Others, while right, stand in clear contradiction with the actual actions of the Polish government.

Lithuania has long been praised for its rankings in the categories of starting a business, registering property, and enforcing contracts, but it has also been criticized for a heavy administrative burden and red tape pervading the areas of dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, and paying taxes.

In 2016, the Institute of Economic and Social Studies (INESS) from Slovakia decided to fill the gap and the Bureaucracy Index was born. In collaboration with experts from different areas, INESS identified and analyzed all the administrative tasks that the state requires from a model SME company.