19.07.2022
THE ROMANIAN GOVERNMENT ADOPTED THE FINAL VERSION OF THE REGULATION AMENDING AND SUPPLEMENTING THE TAX CODE
The government adopted the final version of the regulation on amendments and additions to the Tax Code. Some measures will enter into force at the beginning of August, announced the Minister of Finance, Adrian Kuču.
"Today, we adopted the final version of the ordinance amending and supplementing the Tax Code. Some measures will take effect from 1 January 2023 and others from 1 August 2022. I will emphasize this balanced approach to fiscal reform, as there have been calls for a more radical approach. The government considered that, in view of the complex situation we are facing, making radical corrections in the fiscal environment would not be advisable and chose to continue its trajectory of supporting the business environment and consolidating honest business", stressed the finance minister.
He believes that some long-delayed fiscal measures have led Romania to enter an excessive deficit procedure in 2020.
"We announced at the beginning of this year that this reform will take place. This is a balanced adjustment, from our point of view, between the need to further support the economy and citizens and the protection, if you will, of Romanian capital, but also of employees' incomes, while continuing to sustainably provide medium-long-term fiscal-budgetary balance. After the preliminary conversation we had with the business, but also as a result of the political discussions within the coalition, a series of decisions were made, which were presented in the decisions on the amendment of the Tax Code, and this week the debates with the business environment continued; at their request, a series of corrections were made (...)," said Adrian Cutchu.
The changes, which take effect on August 1, include an increase in excise duties on tobacco (including heated tobacco) and alcohol, a reduction in the threshold for granting tax breaks in the food industry and construction from 30,000 to 10,000 Romanian lei (RON), repealing certain deductions for real estate transactions and returning to real value taxation.
The other changes to the Tax Code, which come into effect from January 2023, concern the 1% turnover tax for restaurants and food suppliers, thus removing the specific tax and reducing the threshold for micro-enterprises to €500,000. Tax on dividends will rise to 8 percent from the current 5 percent.
The VAT rate for drinks with added sweeteners or sugar is set to increase to 19 percent, while for restaurants, accommodation and catering the VAT rate will return to 9 percent.
According to the latest version of the draft regulation to amend the Tax Code, the financial effect on the revenue part is 1.19 billion RON this year and over 10.5 billion RON next year.
15.07.2022
MISTAKES TO AVOID WHEN CHOOSING A LOGO FOR YOUR COMPANY
A logo is one of the most important visual elements of a business. It is among the things by which you will be recognized.
Therefore, it is crucial not to neglect it, but to approach its selection carefully. Here's what to avoid:
Cheap usually shows. And a business that is not inclined to invest enough money in one of its symbols is not at all trustworthy. Even if you don't have a high budget, don't necessarily try to skimp on it. Especially when you're starting a new business that has yet to win customers over.
Betting on proven formulas is easy, but it won't set you apart at all. After all, you want to attract attention, not be mistaken for competitors, right? Keep in mind the theme of your business and what message you want your logo to convey, but try not to make it look like others on the market. To this end, you can research what businesses similar to yours are using in order to have a basis for comparison.
It's not just that you won't stand out here. Even worse! Anyone who sees your logo and knows where it was copied from will automatically lose even the ability to trust your business.
Every color has a message. Choose one that aligns with your company mission, with the goals behind your business, with what you offer your customers. This way you will be able to subconsciously communicate what is behind your business.
How logo color manipulates your emotions
Some brands are instantly recognizable by the color of their logos. Bright yellow arches on the horizon tell you there's a McDonald's nearby, for example. This color is invariably associated with the specific company, but what emotions does it trigger on a subconscious level?
Here's how things look with the different colors:
Red
It is associated with fire and blood and evokes a sense of intensity, action, sensuality, passion, trust and aggression.
Blue
It is associated with the sky and the sea and evokes a sense of comfort, faith, conservatism, understanding, clarity, harmony and trust.
Yellow
It is associated with sunlight and evokes joy, vitality, energy and a sense of freshness.
Green
It is associated with nature and evokes calmness, a sense of relaxation, harmony, peace and hope.
Violet
It is associated with nobility, evokes a sense of luxury, power, glamour, nostalgia, romance and introspection.
Orange
Associated with sunlight and the tropics, it evokes happiness, enthusiasm, creativity, determination and stimulates mental activity.
Black
It is associated with the night and evokes a sense of mystery, formality, courage, seriousness and luxury.
Pink
It is associated with femininity and evokes emotions of love, sympathy, warmth, sexuality and caring.
Brown
It is associated with Mother Earth and evokes feelings of reliability, care, support and security.
15.07.2022
BNB: PRICES WILL RISE UNTIL 2023, BUT WAGES WILL OUTPACE THIS GROWTH
Income growth higher than inflation until the end of the year, the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) predicts in its new forecast. The reason for this, according to experts, is the shortage of qualified workers, which will pressure the private sector to raise wages.
Income growth will accelerate by 14.3% in 2022, with a faster rate of rise relative to inflation expected to support real household disposable income, the document said.
This gap will close in 2023, for which the BNB expects wages to rise twice as slowly – by 6.5%, and for 2024 the increase will be slightly larger – up to 7.5%. Unemployment in our country is expected to reach 4.7% in 2022 and decrease to 4.3% in 2024.
However, the BNB lowered, and sharply, its forecast for the growth of the Bulgarian economy in 2022 - to 1.9% compared to the 2.1% expected in March. The arguments - slower GDP growth is determined by the expansion of the negative contribution of net exports, which will only be partially offset by the expected acceleration of domestic demand.
The central bank's expectations are much more pessimistic than those three months ago for economic growth until 2024. For next year, it is expected to be no higher than 1.7% instead of the 3.9% predicted in March. It looks a little more optimistic in 2024 – 3.7%.
Inflation will move in the opposite direction, the BNB predicts - by the end of the year it will accelerate to 14.7%, and not as expected in March - to 9.6%, the reason will be the increase in the price of all goods and services. It is only in 2023 and 2024 that inflation is expected to slow down to 3.8 and 3.1%, respectively, due to the then expected calming down of the prices of energy raw materials on international markets and the significant slowdown in food price increases.
A deficit of 1.1% of GDP in 2022, an increase to 1.3% in 2023 and a contraction to 0.5% in 2024 are also forecast by the central bank.
A slight slowdown in the growth of loans at the end of 2022 - to 8.4%, but the preservation of strong interest in mortgage loans, despite the expectations of an increase in interest rates, is also predicted by the BNB. The reasons are the significant acceleration of inflation and the remaining negative real interest rates on housing loans, together with the still negative level of interest rates on deposits.
However, for 2023, when interest rate hikes and inflation easing are expected to be felt, the forecast is for a more substantial slowdown in the growth of both household loans and loans to non-financial enterprises. In 2024, the forecast points to a slight acceleration of lending.
Deposits are expected to continue to grow at a high rate over the forecast period thanks to wage growth and a projected increase in interest rates on deposits. The rates remain roughly the same – around 9%.
As potential risks to the forecast, the central bankers point to even lower GDP growth throughout the forecast period, i.e. until 2024, due to the possibility of further deterioration of the international situation and shortage of energy raw materials in Bulgaria and the main trading partners On the side.
Political uncertainty, which will affect investment activity in Bulgaria, is considered a risk for the forecast. This may lead to slower absorption of funds under European programs and delayed implementation of investment projects under the National Plan for Recovery and Sustainability.
There are also risks of higher inflation due to the difficulty of predicting the dynamics of raw material prices on international markets. The incomplete transfer of the zero VAT for the supply of bread and flour to final consumer prices, as well as the compensation for fuel prices, may also reduce the realism of the forecast, the BNB notes.
The EC appears to be a little more optimistic about the Bulgarian economy. The economic growth of Bulgaria in 2022 will be within 2.8%, according to the summer forecast of Brussels. According to them, this year the growth of the gross domestic product will accelerate by 0.7 percentage points compared to their spring forecast, but in 2023 there will be a slowdown to 2.3%, which is 0.8 percentage points lower than the spring expectations.
The EU sees arguments for these expectations in the strong recovery of the Bulgarian economy in the first quarter of next year, which they expect to continue. However, the worsening external environment, tight credit conditions and slow real wage growth will drag down the forecast for 2023.
Brussels expects inflation in Bulgaria to reach a level of 12.5% in 2022, and to calm down to a single-digit level of 6.8% in 2023. The development of the entire European Union is under the influence of the war in Ukraine, the EC notes. The expectations for this year are that the GDP of the community will increase by 2.7%, but in 2023 it will decrease almost twice - about 1.5%. For the Eurozone, GDP growth in 2022 will be 2.6%, and next year it will slow significantly to 1.4%.
15.07.2022
EXTEND THE TERM OF SOCIAL PAYMENTS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
The term of social payments for people with disabilities is being extended, the Social Assistance Agency announced.
From there, they specify that until the end of 2022, TELK's expert decisions for determining permanently reduced working capacity, the validity of which expired in the period from 03.13.2020 to 06.30.2022, were extended, provided that the persons submitted documents for re-certification by July 15 of this year.
Based on information provided by the Regional Health Inspections until July 20, 2022, the Agency will ex officio extend the terms of these expert decisions and of the applications-declarations for monthly social payments on all legal grounds of these persons, of the directions issued to them for personal assistance under the Law for people with disabilities, as well as for health insurance of persons until new expert decisions are issued, but no later than 31.12.2022.
15.07.2022
RECORD LOW UNEMPLOYMENT IN OUR COUNTRY
The Employment Agency reported a record low unemployment rate of 4.2 percent in June. This is the lowest value reached so far since the Agency measured its level. 138,799 people were registered at the labor offices, or nearly 32,000 people less than in May.
Compared to May 2022, the unemployment rate decreased by 0.3 percentage points, and on an annual basis compared to June last year - by one percentage point.
The unemployed who started work in June were 22,744, or 7,865 more than in May.
The continuing decrease of the unemployed compared to the previous month is mainly due to the launched regional employment programs, the Employment Agency explained. Through them, municipalities provide the necessary labor for environmental and communal activities, and this year businesses also receive support for hiring workers to overcome the economic and social consequences of Covid-19.
The occupations most in demand by businesses in June are workers in mining and processing, construction and transportation, as well as personnel employed in the field of personal services, waste collection workers, machine operators and others.
Predominantly vacancies in the real economy are reported in the manufacturing industry (20.2%), followed by hotel and restaurant industry (14.2%), trade, car and motorcycle repair (8.0%), administrative and auxiliary activities (4 .6%) and education (4.5%).
14.07.2022
THREE TIPS FOR ENSURING A BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY THAT WORKS
Development should be among the main priorities in the first 5 years of your business, if you want to secure a stable position in the market.
However, in order to grow your business, you should have a good strategy for it. And to make sure yours is, follow these 3 tips:
In order to realize certain achievements, they must be set as measurable goals. In other words, to have a numerical expression by which you can subsequently compare the initial state and the one registered after a certain period of time. So what metrics do you want your business to grow in? A certain number of sales? A certain number of regular customers? Average monthly earnings given? and other.
Once you've determined what your business's goals are, you need to plan how to achieve them. What measures will you take, how will you monitor their implementation, what resources will you need, etc. Of course, this plan will not be final, but will need regular revision as the situation changes. But with its help, you will be prepared and have a developed framework for action.
If you have selected your employees carefully and trust them, do not keep them out of your development plans. On the contrary, involve them in their development. Leverage the competencies of your staff by assigning them the tasks for which they are best prepared. Seek their opinion and ideas on matters where their knowledge and experience outweighs yours. All this will not only engage your team in the implementation of your business development strategy, but also motivate them to work. And motivated employees are precisely those who will help to realize your aspirations in business.
source: entrepreneur.com
14.07.2022
INSURANCE DURING SICK LEAVE
During a continuous sick leave of an employee, the declared insurance income, according to documents submitted by the employer, is the minimum insurance income, and the remuneration of the employee according to an open-ended employment contract is higher. Is this legal?
Public relations related to state social insurance (SSI) and supplementary mandatory pension insurance (SMPI) are regulated by the Social Insurance Code (SIC), and those related to health insurance - by the Health Insurance Act (HIA).
Insurance income is a basic concept in insurance law. Insurance income is monthly income and is the basis on which insurance contributions are calculated and made.
In the specified case, on the basis of Article 9, Paragraph 2, Item 2 of the SIC, the time of paid and unpaid leave for temporary incapacity for work, leave for pregnancy and childbirth and for the adoption of a child up to the age of 5, as well as paid and unpaid child-rearing leave is considered as insurance service without making insurance contributions.
The insurance income for the purposes of compulsory health insurance is determined in the Health Insurance Act depending on the insured persons. The health contribution is calculated on the insurance income defined in the law.
The regulatory framework that determines the income on which health contributions are due for persons temporarily unable to work due to illness is Art. 40, para. 1, item 5 of the Health Insurance Act. The health contributions for persons temporarily unable to work due to illness, pregnancy and childbirth, on leave to raise a small child in accordance with Art. 164, para. 1 and 3 of the Labor Code (LC) and leave for the adoption of a child up to the age of 5 in accordance with Art. 164b, para. 1 and 5 of the LC are due on the minimum insurance income for self-insured persons. Contributions are for the account of the employer and are equal to the part of the contribution owed by him, being paid by the 25th of the month following the month to which they relate.
It is clear from the cited provision that the income on which health contributions are owed for these persons is tied to the minimum monthly insurance income for self-insured persons and is not proportional to the amount of compensation received from the state social insurance.
In view of the above and in accordance with Art. 9, paragraph 2, item 2 of the SIC for the periods of temporary incapacity for work, no insurance income is determined on which insurance is due in the sense of the SIC, but with the provision of Art. 40, para. 1, item 5 of the Health Insurance Act is regulated insurance income only for the purposes of health insurance in the amount of the minimum insurance income for self-insured persons, determined by the Law on the State Public Insurance Budget for the relevant year.
On the same income, the employer (insurer) is obliged to pay health contributions in an amount equal to the part of the health contribution owed by him (4.8 percent). In the considered hypothesis, for those referred to by the provision of Art. 40, para. 1, item 5 of the HIA periods, namely the periods of temporary incapacity due to illness, pregnancy and childbirth, on leave to raise a small child in accordance with Art. 164, para. 1 and 3 of the LC and leave for the adoption of a child up to the age of 5 in accordance with Art. 164b, para. 1 and 5 of the LC, no insurance contributions are due from and at the expense of the insured person.
According to Art. 5, para. 4 of SIC and Art. 39, para. 1 of the Health Insurance Act insurers and employers should periodically submit data to the NRA in accordance with Ordinance No. Н-13 of December 17, 2019 on the content, terms, manner and order of submission and storage of data by employers, insurers for the insured under them persons, as well as by self-insured persons in accordance with the provisions of the ordinance and insurance legislation. It is in this connection in the Declaration model No. 1 "Data on the insured person" (Appendix No. 1 to Art. 2, Para. 1 of the Ordinance) that the insurance income, on which health insurance contributions are due for the periods of temporary incapacity to work, is filled in a separate field of the declaration - item 17 "Income on which health insurance contributions are due for the persons under Art. 40, para. 1, item 5 of the Health Insurance Act".
14.07.2022
ENTREPRENEURSHIP: 4 LESSONS STARTING YOUR OWN BUSINESS TEACHES US
Opening your own company is by no means a simple undertaking, on the contrary. It is accompanied by so many important details that it is not at all difficult to miss one.
At the same time, as you progress in running your own business, 4 important lessons stand out that are good to know at the start:
There is no point in telling your friends that you are going to start a business. Better launch and then share with them. Of course, if they are part of your target customers, it is important that they know, but let it be when they can already buy your products. After all, no one has ever succeeded in any endeavor just by talking about it.
Don't compromise here. The quality of your product will depend on what kind of raw material suppliers you have, for example. So take your time and be patient when looking for the right partners. If a relationship doesn't suit you, don't be afraid to end it. Don't burn bridges, of course, but don't hesitate either.
There are proven methods that work. At the start it is better to trust them. When you have already gained a stable circle of customers, you can think about improvements to your website, about novelties, a nicer design and anything else that comes to mind. In the beginning, it's important to have a website that works well and is easy for customers to navigate.
If they told you that you would only study for 12 or 16 years, they lied to you. Learning continues throughout life. And if you want your business to work well, develop, win new customers, you yourself as an entrepreneur must develop, improve your existing skills and acquire new ones. Analyze the needs of your company and select courses and trainings that will be useful.
13.07.2022
HOW MUCH LEAVE CAN WE CARRY OVER TO NEXT YEAR?
The use of paid annual leave is regulated in Art. 172 of the Labor Code (LC), according to which the paid annual leave is allowed to the worker or employee all at once or in parts. In Art. 173, para. 1 of the LC stipulates that paid annual leave is used by the worker or employee with written permission from the employer. To use paid annual leave, the employee must submit a written request to the employer. The written permission from the employer is given by an order or other written document that the worker or employee must obtain.
According to Art. 173, para. 5 of the LC, the worker or employee uses his paid annual leave until the end of the calendar year to which it refers. The employer is obliged to grant paid annual leave to the worker or employee until the end of the relevant calendar year, unless its use is postponed in accordance with Art. 176. In this case, the worker or employee is guaranteed the use of not less than half of the paid annual leave due to him for the calendar year.
According to Art. 176, para. 1 of the Labor Code, the use of paid annual leave can be postponed for the next calendar year: 1. by the employer - due to important production reasons under the condition of Art. 173, para. 5, sentence three; 2. by the worker or employee - when he/she uses another type of leave or at his request with the consent of the employer.
When the leave is postponed or not used until the end of the calendar year to which it refers, the employer is obliged to ensure its use in the following calendar year, but no later than 6 months, counting from the end of the calendar year to which it refers applies - Art. 176, para. 2 of LC. The provision of Art. 176, para. 3 of the LC indicates that when the employer has not authorized the use of the leave in the cases and within the terms under para. 2, the worker or employee has the right to determine the time of its use by notifying the employer in writing at least 14 days in advance.
According to Art. 176a, para. 1 of the LC, when the paid annual leave or a part of it is not used until the expiration of two years from the end of the year for which it is due, regardless of the reasons for this, the right to use it is extinguished by statute of limitations. In Art. 176a, para. 2 of the LC provides that when the paid annual leave is postponed under the conditions and according to the procedure of Art. 176, para. 1, the employee's or employee's right to use it is extinguished by statute of limitations after the expiration of two years from the end of the year in which the reason for its non-use ceased. The paid annual leave for 2018 must be used until 31.12.2020, after which the right to use it is extinguished by statute of limitations.
13.07.2022
HOW MUCH THEY PAID EMPLOYERS TO KEEP JOBS DURING THE PANDEMIC
Until July 29, employers who used the measure to preserve employment “60 to 40” in the month of June must submit to the Employment Agency the reports on the workers involved.
The measure came into effect in March 2020 and ended at the end of last month.
According to the operational information of the NOI, as of June 23, the funds paid to preserve jobs during the pandemic amounted to BGN 1.931 billion, the scheme was used by 13,700,000, which saved 335,000 employees.
The latest interim report of the NSI on the funds paid under the measure shows that the largest share of the total number of jobs saved is in the "Manufacturing industry" sector. Nearly 42 percent of the retained workers are concentrated there. The amounts paid are approximately the same percentage. About 20 percent of the reserved jobs and slightly more than 16 percent of the money paid are in the "Hotel and restaurant industry" sector.
The months in which the largest payments under the "60 to 40" measure were made are January, February and March 2021 - BGN 123 million per month. Then 150,000 workers were retained.
For comparison, in May 2022, 14 million BGN were paid under the measure for 20,000 employees, and the money went to 930 employers.
Over 60 percent of employers and nearly 70 percent of workers participated in the measure for a period of up to 10 months.
57% of businesses had up to 9 employees, and 1.5% - with 250 or more insured.
