Business | All stories

Lenders operating in the Czech Republic have agreed to contribute to a state development fund designed to cover increased public spending during a global economic slowdown in order to avoid the threat of a bank tax that would present an even bigger drain on their income.

Two years after a law aiming to clamp down on bootleg wine sales and low quality wines came into force it still sparks controversy among wine-growers and wine sellers. While the Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority claims the quality of wines sold on the market has significantly improved, small wine makers say it is putting them out of business.

The Czech government is poised to amend the Food and Consumer Protection acts so as to ban the practice of “dual quality” sales of food and other products. If signed into law, retailers would be banned from selling inferior quality products that appear to be the same as superior ones sold elsewhere in the EU.

The Czech Republic’s system of company tax is one of the most complicated in the EU, claims a study made in collaboration by the consultancy BDO and two German universities. The Czech Republic ranked fourth from bottom among EU states and its tax system was considered below average in the world-wide ranking.

Companies in the Czech Republic will have to accurately track their employees’ working hours. Otherwise they will come under pressure from trade unions armed with a new European court ruling, iHned.cz. reported on Thursday.

A new residential and office quarter is set to go up in the Prague 10 district that will contain up to 650 apartments and become the home of one of the country’s top orchestras, iHned.cz reported.

In the last few decades the number of teenagers who opted to become skilled tradesmen and women has seen a steep decline. Consequently the country now lacks an estimated 300,000 skilled workers in various trades, with masons, electricians and installers the most in demand.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš described the country’s agricultural self-sufficiency as catastrophic in a speech to members of the Chamber of Agriculture on Sunday. He also defended the high-levels of rapeseed cultivation, which he said is a victim of mythmaking.

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’s (ANO) bid to extend the scope of the electronic cash register system known as the “EET” is a step closer to becoming law. But while one move to delay its implementation was defeated on Friday, other delaying tactics remained in play.

Unemployment rates in the Czech Republic have been the lowest Europe-wide for some time now. The latest data on employment levels is set to be released by the Labour Office on Friday, but already now analysts have told the Czech News Agency that they expect unemployment to have sunk in April to 2.8 percent compared to 3 percent in March. The need for workers is also leading to women taking on more “unusual” jobs, Czech Television reports.