Pravo i porezi 6/2020

Besplatni ručak i RH

Dojmljiva predavanja svojedobno je držao profesor Gorazd Nikić. Izlažući o makroekonomskoj politici te međunarodnim ekonomskim odnosima, često je naglašavao da je ekonomija puna psihologije i da je Hrvati pomalo teško razumiju. Na osobit je način profesor ostao u memoriji studenata po upornom, pa čak i – činilo se (samo) tada – pretjeranom ponavljanju da u ekonomiji ne postoji besplatni ručak. Tu činjenicu i prokušanu vječnu ekonomsku istinu profesor nije uzalud ponavljao. Ona se u RH baš ovih dana snažno oživotvoruje.
RH suočena je s dubokom recesijom. Nagovješćuje ju podatak o potrebama države od 70-ak milijarda kuna za financiranje svih njezinih obveza, snažan svibanjski podbačaj u poreznim prihodima te desetci tisuća izgubljenih radnih mjesta. Recesija, dakako, ne dolazi odmah. Ekonomija na nju reagira s odmakom, a kod neprilagođenih taj odmak često bude i duži, ali ih pogađa dublje i trajnije (e. g. 2008.). Očekujući je, u RH je u javnosti pušten podatak o dodjeli velikih bespovratnih sredstava EU-a (with no strings attached), čime se ciljano i pogrešno stvara privid da je to gotova stvar, da iz Bruxellesa bez kriterija u RH stiže dvije tisuće eura po stanovniku, pa još 400 milijuna za skraćeni rad, pa i još neki drugi milijuni.
Međutim, EU tih sredstva nema. Kada bi ih željela plasirati, do njih može doći samo vlastitim zaduživanjem, koje bi bilo povoljno, ali nije besplatno. Upusti li se EU u dodjelu sredstava čije pribavljanje za nju nije besplatno, ona sigurno neće biti besplatna ni za njihova destinatara, tj. države članice. U suprotnome došlo bi do apsurda da EU provodi besplatnu djelidbu sredstava bez kriterija kojih sama nema i čiji bi trošak snosila ona sama. EU je tijesno povezana s državama članicama pa je neizbježno da bi taj novac morala od njih namaknuti, zajedno s njegovom cijenom i troškom. Kada bi se u EU-u to prihvatilo, glavnica i kamate te trošak sigurno bi bili prevaljeni na države članice, pa i na RH. Nepoznato je u tom scenariju samo kako bi se to učinilo i kako bi se to zaduživanje formalno nazvalo. Taj bi scenarij podrazumijevao znatno povećanje „članarina“ država članica (što bi za RH, prema nekim projekcijama, značilo godišnje izdvajanje 7,5 do 8 milijarda kuna, što je na 10-godišnjoj razini otprilike onih 75 milijarda), smanjivanje dostupnosti fondova EU-a te smanjenje njihova kapaciteta, pa i za RH. Napokon, EU sada nema vlastitih prihoda, a taj scenarij neizostavno bi od 2021. godine vodio k uvođenju europskih (unijskih) poreza koji bi bili njezin izvorni prihod, a što državu članicu košta jer tada ona gubi ta sredstva koja bi, da je drukčije, bila njezin prihod. Opisani scenarij priželjkuju redom države članice sa strukturnim problemima (Italija, Grčka i dr.), a tu je i RH, jer je njihovo samostalno zaduživanje na tržištu kapitala skupo, dok bi zaduživanje posredovanjem EU-a za njih bilo kudikamo povoljnije. Stabilne i razvijene ekonomije, kojima je jeftin kapital ionako dostupan, poput Austrije, Nizozemske i tradicionalno štedljivih sjevernjaka, tome se – logično – protive. Za RH taj bi scenarij značio snažno zaduživanje na više od tri desetljeća, neovisno o tome kako bi se ono u krajnjoj liniji prozvalo ili prezentiralo narodu.
Ipak, čitav taj scenarij sada je privid, a novac koji bi RH trebala dobiti čista je imaginacija. Sedmogodišnji financijski okvir EU-a od 2021. nije donesen. O njemu se sada pregovara, i to „u mukama“. Taj se okvir, k tome, donosi suglasjem svih država članica i – nota bene – primjenjivat će se tek od 2021. godine. Kakav će on biti, to sada nitko ne zna. Ako bi u bilo kojoj mjeri oživio opisani scenarij, za RH i druge članice sa strukturnim ekonomskim problemima ta sredstva uopće neće biti ni besplatna ni bespovratna. Dapače, stvorit će dugotrajnu i skupu obvezu koja će svakog stanovnika RH na neki način pritisnuti i pritiskati kroz dugi niz godina.
Radije nam ostaje vjerovati riječima profesora Nikića i maksimi koju student uči prvog dana na studiju ekonomije. A prije njega još i Rimljanima, te njihovoj poznatoj i toliko puta životno proku&am

ZAKON IZ PODRUČJA DRŽAVNOG PRORAČUNA

• ZID Zakona o izvršavanju Državnog proračuna Republike Hrvatske za 2020. godinu

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• Zakon o nacionalnoj naknadi za starije osobe

ZAKON IZ PODRUČJA MIROVINSKIH FONDOVA

• ZID Zakona o obveznim mirovinskim fondovima

ZAKON IZ PODRUČJA CARINSKOG SUSTAVA

• ZI Zakona o slobodnim zonama

ZAKON IZ PODRUČJA PRAVA OSIGURANJA

• ZID Zakona o osiguranju

ZAKON IZ SUSTAVA PLAĆANJA I KREDITNOG POSLOVANJA

• Zakon o provedbi Uredbe (EU) 2017/2402 o utvrđivanju općeg okvira za sekuritizaciju i o uspostavi specifičnog okvira za jednostavnu, transparentnu i standardiziranu sekuritizaciju

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• Zakon o sigurnosti i interoperabilnosti željezničkog sustava

ZAKON IZ PODRUČJA PROMETNE POLITIKE

• Zakon o pružanju informacija o multimodalnim putovanjima

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• ZID Zakona o Hrvatskom registru brodova

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• ZID Zakona o zaštiti i očuvanju kulturnih dobara

ZAKON IZ PODRUČJA ZAŠTITE PRIRODE I OKOLIŠA

• ZID Zakona o provedbi Uredbe (EU) br. 528/2012 Europskoga parlamenta i Vijeća u vezi sa stavljanjem na raspolaganje na tržištu i uporabi biocidnih proizvoda

ZAKON IZ PODRUČJA MEĐUNARODNOG PRAVA

• Zakon o potvrđivanju Ugovora o zajmu između Republike Hrvatske i Međunarodne banke za obnovu i razvoj za Projekt učinkovitog pravosuđa za bolje poslovno okruženje

In view of the current and significant issues, the authors discuss the tax point of view and the point of view of salary compensation during annual leave and holiday bonus, as well as important issues related to the calculation of these employee benefits with an introductory statement of legal status of these receipts.

Keywords: employee’s receipts, annual leave, right to annual leave, salary compensation, holiday bonus, right to holiday bonus, enforcement on salary, cash payment.

In the article, the author discusses interesting and important issues that frequently arise in current practice, and relate to the use of vacation. In addition, concrete examples of solutions to individual cases related to the issue of annual leave are given.

At its session on 29 May 2020, the Management Board of the Croatian Employment Service adopted a decision on Amendments to the Conditions and Manner of Using Funds for the Implementation of Active Employment Policy Measures in 2020. The Management Board of the Croatian Employment Service (hereinafter: CES) adopted a new measure of Subsidy for the preservation of jobs in activities affected by Coronavirus (COVID-19) for June and supplementing the criteria for obtaining subsidy for May.

Anticipating the introduction of shortened working hours in the Republic of Croatia (or, as it is sometimes stated, part-time work), this article briefly and clearly presents the basic features of shortened working hours in Germany. The concept, types, functions, assumptions of such a  work, but also its favourable and unfavourable consequences for both employees and employers are treated in particular. In Germany, it is a model older than a hundred years. However, the relevant arrangement to which many world orders pay attention is the recession of 2008 and the pandemic of March 2020.

The addressee must be able to distinguish a by-law that is generally binding from various other enactments and non-normative texts which are not binding. Although this is not a novelty in the Republic of Croatia, this issue became especially important and relevant during the Pandemic, when everywhere, including the activities of state bodies and persons with public authority, began to produce a number of texts of different titles and contents, some of which were general enactments, whereas others were not, although attempts were made to incorrectly present them to the public and the addressees as binding. This article sets out and explains the criteria that an enactment must cumulatively meet in order to be general and by-law. It refers to the addressee and to certain problems in the Croatian legislation regarding the title and hierarchy of enactments. The legal nature of the decisions of the Civil Protection Headquarters of the Republic of Croatia and the recommendations of the Croatian Institute of Public Health is being resolved. Finally, a review is given of interpretations, opinions and viewpoints and their role in law, but at the same time their precise distinction from general enactments.

On July 5, 2020, at polling stations in the Republic of Croatia, and on Saturday, July 4. and on Sunday, July 5, 2020, representatives to the Croatian Parliament will be elected at polling stations at the headquarters of diplomatic missions and consular offices of the Republic of Croatia. This article points to the rights and obligations of voters in the period from the entry into force of the decision to call elections (June 3, 2020) to 10 days before the elections (until June 24, 2020) and on election day.

In the last issue of the magazine Pravo i porezi, the authors wrote about the conditions under which Croatian taxpayers can obtain a VAT refund in the member states of the European Union  and in the third countries. In this article, the authors explain under what conditions and in what way the taxpayers with the headquarters, residence or usual residence in other EU Member States and in the third countries are entitled to a VAT refund charged to them by taxpayers with the registered office in the Republic of Croatia.

The term aggressive tax planning covers a very wide range of business transactions, from legal tax avoidance to illegal tax evasion, so a distinction should be made between tax evasion when tax rules are not violated and tax evasion when tax rules and regulations are violated. Tax avoidance is usually defined as the full use of all possibilities to reduce the tax liability within the limits of the law, and tax evasion in turn means non-payment of statutory taxes.
In the article, the author explains the new rules for mandatory disclosure of information to the Tax Administration on potential aggressive tax planning arrangements, which have been implemented in Council Directive (EU) - 2018/822 into a national regulation, the application of which starts on 1 July 2020. In this sense, the article elaborates in more detail the meaning of the cross-border arrangement, the persons obliged to present reports, the information that needs to be exchanged and the deadlines and types of reporting. It also explains in more detail the characteristics of the cross-border arrangements being reported, given that the need for a more detailed explanation has been identified.

The German Government has provided multiple tax aid to support entrepreneurs and employees during the corona pandemic. On May 6, 2020, in parallel with the draft of the Act titled Corona-Steuerhilfegesetz, the Federal Government passed a new package of aid measures. Entrepreneurs who will realize a loss this year due to the corona pandemic are enabled to receive aid in the name of liquidity and other tax reliefs. Employees are provided with non-taxable bonus payments of their employers in the amount of up to 1,500 euros in 2020. Among other things, a limited reduction in the VAT rate on food to 7% is envisaged in the name of helping gastronomy during the crisis.

The article discusses the topic of liability of economic entities for irregularities during public procurement procedures. This issue is considered from the point of view of the Public Procurement Act, followed by an overview of two important decisions of the EU Court of Justice, in which the Court expressed views on the binding nature of public procurement rights ratione personae and the admissibility and restrictions on fines for economic entities.

The legal consequences of concluding a loan agreement with a currency clause in the Swiss franc and consumer rights have been one of the burning issues in the Republic of Croatia for a long time. The last step in the collective legal protection procedure that lasted for years, with the aim of annulling the contractual provisions on the variable interest rate and currency clause in Swiss francs was the review decision of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia Rev 2221 / 2018-11 of 3 September 2019. . With the cited decision, the Supreme Court, among other things, upheld the decision of the High Commercial Court Pž-6632 / 2017-10 of 14 June 2018 in the part relating to the nullity of the contractual provision on the currency clause in the Swiss franc. However, immediately after reviewing the legal consequences and limits of collective legal protection, the first pilot procedure was initiated in the Republic of Croatia, which resulted in the Supreme Court's legal understanding of the validity of the conversion agreement.

The epidemic of the COVID-19 has brought up the issue of concluding distance contracts, in situations when two parties (contractors) are not in the same place at the time of concluding the contract, i.e. when they communicate by (various) means of remote communication. The authors of the article state the most important issues that arise when concluding a distance contract, including the special protection regulated by the Consumer Protection Act in order to protect the rights and obligations of consumers when concluding a distance contract.

One of the effects of bilateral contractual collection is liability for deficiencies that can be material and legal. In view of legal deficiencies, the contractor is liable for legal defects and is obliged to protect the other party from the rights and claims of third parties to whom its right would be excluded or restricted. This article deals with legal defects in the sales contract. Its  subject matter is determined by the provisions of the Civil Obligations Act, taking into consideration the relevant court practice.

In the article, the author conceptually defines the institute of liability for a defective product, drawing attention to the distinction between the stated institute and its related institutes - guarantees for the correctness of the sold item (guarantee) and the institute of liability for material defects - with which they complement each other, which are often confused. These are institutes that are not mutually exclusive (although they are completely independent and autonomous), but their cumulation is possible. All three institutes are aimed at the same goal - to be an effective instrument of customer protection in cases of defects of the purchased item.

The owners of real estate, who suffered the earthquake in Zagreb and the surrounding area took on 22 March, took loans to buy, renovate and decorate a building or a flat. Vehicles were procured mainly on credit through leasing, but they were also purchased with the help of consumer loans. In order to obtain a loan, as a rule, at the request of a bank (or leasing company), they had to insure the flat or building against fire and some other dangers, and for motor vehicles, comprehensive insurance was required.
As it is known in property insurance, the group of fires and some other dangers also includes earthquake risk insurance, but only as the additional insurance, which is specifically contracted and for which a special premium is paid. Certain persons, who had a good banking or insurance advisor, had the added risk of earthquake insurance included. Only such persons are entitled to compensation for earthquake damage from the insurer with whom they have concluded an insurance contract.
However, the effort to obtain compensation for the damage suffered (insurance), which they intended to use for repair or purchase (replacement for completely destroyed apartments, buildings, motor vehicles), as soon as possible, complicates an institute to which they did not pay much attention when concluding insurance contracts. . Namely, in some cases, the bank requires from the insurer to pay the insurance to it or that the insurer should obtain the consent of the creditor before paying the insurance, which further complicates the situation in which the insured persons are. This article deals with the problem of vinculation of rights from the insurance contract, rights and obligations of the bank and the insured person when there is a vinculation statement with the insurance contract.

New solutions for introduction of modern technology in litigation procedure on pandemic-earthquake test
The article briefly reviews the intention and regulation of the legislator on the introduction of technology in civil proceedings, but also certain challenges regarding the reality of its application that apparently appeared due to the pandemic and the earthquake in Zagreb. As a judge of that court, the author initially provides an overview of the High Commercial Court in Zagreb and its work under these special circumstances, questioning whether the solutions of the Act on Civil Procedure referring to new technologies have passed the most challenging test in these conditions and proved viable and applicable.

The right to exclusion is the right of a worker not to communicate with the employer outside working hours and the workplace using information and telecommunications technologies. Such a right was the first in the world to be codified in France in the amendments to the Labour Law that entered into force on 1 January 2017. The article discusses the repercussions of this legislation in the rest of Europe, along with the theoretical and practical difficulties that arise from stricter or milder regulation of communication with the employer outside working hours.

The area of protection of inventions by patents as intellectual property rights in the Republic of Croatia was regulated by the Patent Act until 20 February 2020 (Official Gazette, Nos. 173/03, 54/05, 87/05, 76/07, 30/09 , 128/10, 49/11, 76/13, 46/18), applicable from 1 January 2004, by the Patent Ordinance (Official Gazette, No. 117/07, 3/11, 66 / 11, 145/12, 85/13, 43/17) and relevant international agreements. With the enactment of the new Patent Act (Official Gazette, No. 16/20), certain novelties were introduced into the Croatian system of protection of intellectual property rights, which are presented in this article.

Posebni porezi i trošarine