On December 1, 2022, the government approved significant aid for entrepreneurs concerning the ever-increasing energy prices. The state capped electricity prices at EUR 199 per MW/h and gas prices at EUR 99 per MW/h. Entrepreneurs (fulfilling the specifed conditions) will be reimbursed up to 80 % of the amount above the established threshold for August and September 2022. According to the government, this step should stabilize the business sector and help our entire economy.

Applications can only be submitted electronically via the form on the www.energodotacie.mhsr.sk website while the minimum subsidy´s amount is EUR 50, in the case of a lower amount, the application will be rejected. The maximum subsidy´s amount is EUR 500.000 if the following condition is fulfilled – the total aid at any moment does not exceed the amount of EUR 500.000 per economic entity (interconnected entities). Applicants can find instructions for filling out the application on the website. The deadline for submitting an application is December 22, 2022.

Conditions that the authorized recipient of compensation for energy has to fullfil:

• bankruptcy proceedings are not being conducted against the entity, it is not in bankruptcy or restructuring process and the petition for declaration of bankruptcy against the entity was not rejected due to lack of assets;
• no refund of aid is claimed against the entity on the basis of a previous Commission´s decision in which this aid was declared unjustified and incompatible with the internal market;
• does not have a legally imposed punishment of prohibition to receive grants or subsidies;
• does not have a legally imposed punishment of prohibition to receive aid and support provided from European Union´s funds;
• is not a company that is subject to the sanctions adopted by the European Union as a result of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine;
• is not a entity or authority specifically mentioned in legal acts which impose the sanctions adopted by the European Union;
• it is not a company owned or controlled by persons, entities or bodies on which the sanctions adopted by the European Union are aimed;
• it is not a company operating in industrial sectors on which the sanctions adopted by the European Union are aimed.

Airbnb hosts and renters using similar platforms, drivers driving for Bolt or Uber but also other digital platforms providers will no longer hide from the Tax Office since January 2023. The amendment to Act No. 442/2012 will come into force and digital platforms will have to provide information about their customers to the Tax Office without an appeal.

Hard times associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and constrained personal contact indicated that the digitalizing trend is inevitable for certain segments from business sustainability point of view . Digital platforms are providers of online space where supply and demand meet. DAC 7 is aimed specifically at digital platforms operators.

In March 2021, the Council of the European Union adopted the rules for the revision of the Directive on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation No. 2011/16/EU     (through the “DAC 7”). The aim of this measure is to increase tax transparency of the digital space and to ensure the proper payments of income taxes coming from the sale of goods or services via digital platforms. The Slovak Republic implemented DAC 7 by approving the amendment to the Act No. 442/2012 on international assistance and cooperation in tax administration (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) dated 15/06/2022.

What is meant by the term „digital platform“?

Any software or electronic interface enabling the connection between sellers and buyers  (e. g., for the purpose of selling goods, rental of properties and means of transport, or provision of services). Any platform technology via which the seller provides relevant activities to users or customers is required. The term “platform” also covers the activities connected with the arrangement for the collection and payment of a consideration in respect of relevant activity. It does not matter where the digital platform is located but it depends whether the revenue is realized by the sellers based in any of the member states (the DAC 7 rules apply to the territory of the European Union and also outside of it). The aforementioned reporting obligation does not apply to digital platforms which only process payments, place advertisements or redirect customers to another platform.

Who must comply with reporting obligations?

The Act recognizes two types of reporting subjects – platform´s operators based and not based in the Slovak Republic.

Based platform´s operator is one who fulfils at least one of four conditions: 1) being liable to tax in the Slovak Republic by reason of the residency or place of effective management, 2) being founded or established in accordance with the legislation of the Slovak Republic, 3)  place of management is in the Slovak Republic, 4) it has a permanent establishment in the Slovak Republic and is not a Qualified operator of a qualified non-member state´s platform.

Platform´s operator not based in the Slovak Republic or in another member state is one who arranges the execution of the relevant activity of the users who are the subject to notification or relevant activity including real estate rental in the Slovak Republic and at the same time is not a Qualified Non-Union Platform Operator.

What obligations do they have?

The Act stipulates a list of mandatory reporting information by the reporting party. It is not only about the basic identification data of the reporting party but also, e. g., about data of each seller who is the subject to notification who carried out the relevant activity in the relevant reporting period, i.e. rental of means of transport, sold the goods or provision of a similar service via the platform. The data includes e. g. financial account´s identifier, amount of paid income or amounts deducted by the reporting platform´s operator.

The reporting period is a calendar year. The first reporting period will be the year 2023 for which reporting platform´s operators carry out the due diligence and report the information to the Tax Office of the Slovak Republic by 31 January 2024. The electronic report form will be published on the website of the Financial Directorate of the Slovak Republic (hereinafter referred to as “Financial Directorate of SR”).

The Act stipulates exceptions to the reporting obligation for those reporting platform operators who submit a declaration in electronic form that the required information has already been reported by another reporting platform´s operator. The notification form will be published on the website of the Tax Office of the Slovak Republic and its part can be a submission of documentation or agreement regarding the fulfilment of reporting obligations by other reporting platform´s operators.

The reporting platform´s operator is obliged within 15 days from the date when it became the reporting operator of the platform, to notify electronically the competent authority of the Slovak Republic and name a chosen member state which will fulfil the required reporting information. If there are changes to the information stated in the notification, the reporting platform´s operator is obliged to report these changes to the competent authority of the Slovak Republic electronically within 15 days from the day they occurred. The electronic notification form will be published on the website of the Tax Office of the Slovak Republic.

Not based reporting platform´s operator is required to register. It is enough if it is registered in one member state. The application for registration should be submitted to the Tax Office in Bratislava electronically immediately after the platform operator’s activities have begun.

The Act in § 22k determines due diligence procedures for the reporting platform´s operators for obtaining and collecting information about the sellers who are obliged to report, including the scope of information collected about sellers. The reporting party has the right to collect and verify information about the sellers since sellers become active on the platform and begin to provide relevant activities. On the other hand, it is oblige to verify the reliability of the collected information.

Fines

The Tax Office imposes a fine of up to EUR 3.000,00 to the reporting platform´s operator for the non-fulfilment of the notifying obligation, up to EUR 5.000,00 for the non-fulfilment of the registration obligation and a fine of up to EUR 10.000,00 for the non-fulfilment of the reporting obligation to the competent authority of the Slovak Republic and not to comply with due diligence procedures. If obligations are not fulfilled just after the Tax Office’s request, fines may be imposed repeatedly.

For digital platform´s operators, it will be important to assess correctly the scope of their responsibilities and prepare for their fulfilment in order to avoid possible fines. We can take into consideration the preliminary application of processes which can be expanded by the platform´s operator in 2023 only based on the requirements according to DAC 7 valid from January 1, 2023.

This newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not contain all obligations arising from the amendment of the Act and the implementation of DAC 7. In case of any questions regarding to reporting obligations, you can contact us anytime.      

Has your business been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic? It may also have an impact on your transfer pricing.

Companies have been experiencing fluctuations in revenues and cash flows and facing forced closures during the pandemic. On the other hand, certain segments and companies have strengthened their position significantly. Many countries have intervened and provided subsidies to help national businesses in order to protect local economies and preserve jobs. During the pandemic, independent companies and businesses in the market reacted differently to the new economic conditions. The companies have re-evaluated their existing business strategies and contractual arrangements with third parties. Economic entities faced and continue to face new kinds of risks.

All these changes also have an impact on price comparisons and profitability of transactions with related parties. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has therefore issued guidance on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on transfer pricing, addressing, for example, the comparability of data for the purposes of comparability analysis as well as the potential impact of government support programmes on transfer pricing.

As the issue of transfer pricing becomes even more complex, the correct application of the guidance can be crucial for companies. A few practical conclusions can be drawn from this; some may probably be useful for your company, as well.

• If the industry in which you operate has been affected by the pandemic, you may need to update the comparability analysis or quantification of the impact of the pandemic.
• If you have received a government subsidy, taxpayers should perform an analysis to determine the impact of government aid programmes on their operations and their market and adjust their transfer pricing accordingly.
• If your group or company has faced significant losses and new risks, you need to update your functional and risk profile and consider the allocation of losses or specific costs within the group of companies.

The Financial Administration will focus more on transfer pricing in tax audits.

In the first half of the year, the Financial Administration announced that the Office for Selected Economic Entities will invite 889 taxpayers to voluntarily complete a simple questionnaire focused on transactions they have carried out with related parties for the tax period of the calendar year 2020, or for the tax period other than the calendar year that ended in 2020. The Tax Administration expects that by analysing the data, it will be able to fight tax evasion and possible tax avoidance more effectively. The data obtained will also be used to assess the need for legislative and non-legislative changes in the area of transfer pricing and their potential impact.

The Office for Selected Economic Entities is one of the institutions of the Financial Administration, which was established in 2019 by transforming the Tax Office for Selected Taxpayers. Its scope includes banks or branches of foreign banks, insurance and reinsurance companies and branches of foreign insurance and reinsurance companies, securities dealers, pension management companies or supplementary pension companies, payment institutions, entities with the status of an approved economic entity, tax entities that have achieved an annual turnover of EUR 40 million or more for each of two consecutive tax periods.

This growing trend can also be observed on the basis of statistical data on tax audits from the Financial Administration’s Open Data portal. In 2021, a total of 46 tax audits focusing on transfer pricing in the context of international taxation were completed, of which more than 75% were concluded with a finding (35). The amount of the total findings (in EUR) in 2021 exceeded EUR 46 million, representing average findings of more than EUR 1.3 million for each completed tax audit.

Source: Financial Administration’s Open Data portal (financnasprava.sk)

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Should you have more questions or need advice on transfer pricing, please do not hesitate to contact us at any time. We have an experienced team of experts focusing on transfer pricing and transactions with related parties.

Our transfer pricing services include:

• Comprehensive set-up of transfer pricing methodology as well as its agreement with foreign tax advisors
• Preparation of transfer documentation to the required extent as well as the related defence of group pricing
• Processing of comparability analysis using external databases (e.g. TP Catalyst, Royalty Range) as well as internal client data
• Drafting of opinions and ad-hoc advice on transfer pricing
• Review or update of existing transfer documentation
• Representation of clients in tax audits focused on transfer pricing

Súčasťou generačnej výmeny v rodinnej firme je zamestnávanie rodinných príslušníkov, ktoré často ovplyvňujú aj emócie.

Mať rodinných príslušníkov na „výplatnej páske“ je nesmierna zodpovednosť, ktorá pri správne nastavenom systéme a dobrých rodinných vzťahoch môže byť veľkou výhodou, ale aj veľkou nevýhodou a záťažou.

Je potrebné rozlišovať a nájsť hranicu medzi rodinnými a pracovnými vzťahmi.  Ide o dve úplne odlišné „inštitúcie“, ktoré fungujú na rozdielnych princípoch. Ak napríklad syn oklame otca v rámci rodiny, z pozície rodinného príslušníka je potrebné k tomu pristupovať rozdielne, ako keď syn oklame otca v rámci podniku z pozície zamestnanca alebo spoločníka.

Tiež sa môže stať, že zakladateľ rodinného podniku bude natoľko oddaný svojej vízii angažovanosti svojich potomkov do rodinného podnikania, že dané rozhodnutie vykoná z pozície rodiča bez zváženia všetkých racionálnych faktorov ako by to urobil pri cudzej osobe z pozície podnikateľa. Napríklad potomkovia získajú príliš rýchlo vysoké postavenie v rodinnej firme bez ich adekvátnych skúseností. Z toho dôvodu je potrebné, aby sa zakladateľ v záujme rodinného podnikania odosobnil od rodinných vzťahov, ale zároveň  bol v prípade záujmu potomkov pripravený aj na zmeny, ktoré nová generácia do rodinnej firmy prinesie.

Určitú flexibilitu do zamestnávania rodinných príslušníkov prinášajú aj zmeny v aktuálnej legislatíve. Z daňového pohľadu Ministerstvo financií SR vydalo usmernenie, podľa ktorého sa za kontrolovanú transakciu všeobecne nepovažuje závislá činnosť, z ktorej príjmy sú príjmami podľa § 5 zákona o dani z príjmov. A to bez ohľadu na to, či je vykonávaná zamestnancom závislej osoby, spoločníkom alebo konateľom. V tom istom znení sa toto opatrenie  dostalo aj do návrhu novely zákona o dani z príjmov  s účinnosťou od 1. 1. 2023.

Ak rodinný príslušník „vypomáha“ v rodinnej firme bez pracovnej zmluvy, po novom to pre rodinný podnik nemusí byť problém. Podľa zákona o nelegálnej práci a nelegálnom zamestnávaní od 1. 1. 2020 platí, že nelegálnou prácou nie je, ak pre právnickú osobu, ktorá je spoločnosťou s ručením obmedzeným, a má najviac jedného spoločníka, ktorý je fyzickou osobou, vykonáva prácu príbuzný v priamom rade, súrodenec alebo manžel tejto fyzickej osoby alebo tohto spoločníka, ak tento príbuzný v priamom rade, súrodenec alebo manžel je dôchodkovo poistený, je poberateľom dôchodku alebo je žiakom alebo študentom do 26 rokov veku.

Od 1. 1. 2023 sa táto výnimka rozširuje aj na spoločnosti s ručením obmedzeným s dvomi spoločníkmi, avšak títo spoločníci musia byť príbuznými v priamom rade, súrodencami alebo manželmi.

Článok vyšiel aj na blogu SME: https://blog.sme.sk/kino/ekonomika/rodinne-firmy-pri-zapojeni-pribuznych-do-podnikania-je-potrebny-racionalny-pristup-5-cast

Effective 1 January 2024, the draft amendment to the Income Tax Act amends the implementation of a new interest expense limitation rule targeted against practices that artificially reduce the income tax base by utilising excessive debt financing. The proposes measures are a result of the transposition of Directive (EU) 2016/1164. For such reason, a new §17k is added – Interest expense limitation rule.

Slovakia will continue to employ an exception under Article 11 (6) of the ATAD Directive until the end of 2023 and under which interest expense limitation under §21a only applies to dependent entities. The new provisions of §17k of the Income Tax Act will apply to any interest expenses, including bank interest expenses. The rule says that if the amount of net interest expenses is higher than €3,000,000, the tax base is increased by the amount by which such net interest expenses exceed 30% of the total tax bases increased by net interest expenses and depreciation included in the tax base for the given tax period (the EBITDA indicator, which is based on tax items). Net interest expenses are defined as the amount by which expenses (costs) for received credit and loans that are tax-deductible expenses exceed the interest income and other income economically equivalent to interest income, which is taxable income.

As opposed to §21a, net interest expenses include those interests that are part of the purchase price or internal costs of an asset (so-called capitalised interest).

• 21a (1) of the Income Tax Act, in connection with the implementation of §17k and applied practices, specifies that §21a is not applied to interest expenses capitalised into assets in the valuation of internal costs. A new subsection 4 is added to §21a of the Income Tax Act, which stipulates that subsections 1 to 3 concerning the low capitalisation rule do not apply if a taxpayer increases their tax base pursuant to §17k and therefore gives priority to examining the applicability of §17k of the Income Tax Act.

Practical application:

A taxpayer reports total net interest expenses of €250,000 at the end of 2024 based on a loan agreement with a related party concluded on 1 January 2024. The interest expense limit rule under §17k of the Income Tax Act does not apply to the taxpayer. However, the taxpayer must examine if the low capitalisation rules under §21a of the Income Tax Act are met in connection with these interest expenses (not reduced by interest income).

The new §52zzo defines the transitional provisions in place from 1 January 2024, whereby §17k of the Income Tax Act will be used on net interest expenses generated on credit and loan agreements concluded after 31 December 2023, including addenda concluded after 31 December 2023 for agreements concluded prior to 31 December 2023.

The basic differences in application between the proposed §21a of the Income Tax Act and §17k of the Income Tax Act are provided in the table below:

Basic application differences	§21a of the Income Tax Act – Low capitalisation rules	§21a of the Income Tax Act – Interest expense limit rule
To what interests do the given provisions apply?	Interests paid on credit and loans and related expenses (costs) for received credit and loans if the creditor is a dependent entity in relation to the debtor.	Interest costs associated with all types of debt, other costs economically equivalent to interest, expenses incurred by the debtor in obtaining the funds obtaining funds regardless of the creditor’s standing.
Is a level defined above which this rule will be applied?	No, the rule is applied regardless of the amount of interest expenses.	Yes, only if the net interest expenses are higher than €3,000,000.
What indicator is used in the calculation?	EBITDA for accounting purposes	EBITDA for tax purposes
Do these provisions take capitalised interests into account?	No, the balance of credit and loans does not include credit and loans, or parts thereof, from which interests are part of the purchase price or internal costs of an asset.	Yes, interests are considered when part of the purchase price or internal costs of an asset, and specifically in the ratio of what extent these interests amount in the purchase price of the asset or internal costs of the asset, including technical improvements, or in the proportion in which these interests amount in the residual price.
Do these provisions take interest income into account?	No.	Yes, the calculation includes net interest costs, which in the relevant tax year are tax-deductible expenses and exceed taxable interest income.
Can unused deductions be carried forward?	No.	Yes, unrecognised interest costs may be carried forward in no more than 5 immediately following periods.
Exceptions from the rule	If a debtor is a financial institution such as a bank, a branch of a foreign bank, an insurance company, or a leasing company.	If a debtor is a financial institution such as a bank, a branch of a foreign bank, or an insurance company. The exception extends to debtors who are legal entities and whose dependent parties are exclusively natural persons.
Is the date on which the credit / loan is provided decisive?	No.	Under the transitional provisions, the net interest expense rule will be applied on credit and loan agreements concluded after 31 December 2023, including addenda concluded after 31 December 2023 for agreements concluded prior to 31 December 2023.

Part 1 of the Newsletter can be found at:

https://www.moore-bdr.sk/en/navrh-zakona-ktorym-sa-meni-a-doplna-zakon-c-595-2003-z-z-o-dani-z-prijmov-v-zneni-neskorsich-predpisov/

Part 2 of the Newsletter can be found at:

https://www.moore-bdr.sk/en/navrh-zakona-ktorym-sa-meni-a-doplna-zakon-c-595-2003-z-z-o-dani-z-prijmov-v-zneni-neskorsich-predpisov-cast-2z3/

The draft act has been amended to provide taxpayers with a procedure for preventative restructuring under Act 111/2002 on Resolving Potential Bankruptcies and on amendment of certain acts. This act is focused on resolving potential bankruptcies in preventative proceedings using a set of restructuring measures. Preventative restructuring is essentially active engagement with a debtor who has filed a petition to commence the process. The act regulates the resolution of a situation where an entrepreneur is at risk of bankruptcy due to imminent insolvency in preventive proceedings, which is an effective tool for timely resolution of the debtor’s situation so as to maintain business continuity and viability, and especially to avoid default and subsequent bankruptcy. A plan must be developed that contains restructuring measures and these may include forgiveness of the debtor’s liability. Within the Income Tax Act, this involves legislative provisions related to the forgiveness of the debtor’s liability and changes to the procedure for creating adjustments for receivables.

• In connection with this act, §19 (2)(h) which governs situations with respect to the lawful and tax-deductible write-down of receivables has been expanded to include the extinguishing of a receivable as a result of such forgiveness within preventative restructuring. The receivable in the scope in which the liability (debt) is forgiven based on the confirmed plan will then be a tax-deductible expense for the creditor.;

Practical application:

If a court confirms a preventative restructuring plan that involves partial debt forgiveness, under the assumption that the general conditions in §19 (2)(h) of the Income Tax Act are met, then the write-off of this debt is considered a tax-deductible expense in the tax period in which the plan was approved by the court at the earliest. On the debtor’s side, the current practice employed in the Income Tax Act for the write-off of a liability will remain in place (either as part of the economic result or by applying §17 (32).

• The provisions of §20 (2)(c) and (24) are amended to include the ability to include the creation of adjustments for receivables involving a debtor in preventative restructuring proceedings into tax-deductible expenses, and in the same manner as for receivables involving a debtor in conventional (bankruptcy) restructuring. Related amendments were made to the provisions of §20 (11) and (12).;

Practical application:

If a debtor is in a preventative restructuring proceedings and a given receivable was included in taxable income, the adjustment for such receivable is a tax-deductible expense in its full amount, i.e. up to the nominal value of the receivable or the paid purchase price.

The amendment to the act also responds in numerous provisions to the implementation of new international standards for insurance.

• 20 (8) was amended given the adoption of the new international financial reporting standard IFRS 17, which replaces the temporary IFRS 4 and which governed the inclusion of technical reserves created by insurance companies into tax-deductible expenses. According to IFRS 17, insurance companies no longer report technical reserves as future expected estimated liabilities. An insurance company will report liabilities from insurance policies continuously over the duration of such insurance policies by discounting cash-flow to the present value. Due to the fact that insurance companies will not report technical reserves with the application of IFRS 17, i.e. future estimated liabilities, but report liabilities on the basis of discounted cash-flow, the costs reported in this way no longer meet the definition of a reserve and, like other liabilities, will be a tax-deductible expense in accordance with accounting.
• During the initial application of the standards due to a change in the accounting method, which also constitutes a change in insurance policy reporting, changes reported in equity that would have an impact on taxable income or tax-deductible expenses will be included in the tax base in accordance with the proposed transitional provision §52zzn (1).;
• Tax base adjustments under §17 (2)(d) and based on international financial reporting standards IFRS 17 and IFRS 9 by insurance companies will be included in the tax base evenly starting with the tax period that begins on 1 January 2023 at the earliest, but no later than the end of the second tax period that follows the tax period beginning on 1 January 2023 at the earliest.

The draft act also covers the tax bonus adjustment effective 1 July 2022.

• Amendment of §32 (5), §33 (4) and (9), and §38 (3) creates the room necessary for an increase in the tax bonus deduction for a dependent child (or children) following the inclusion of the income (partial tax base) of both eligible persons (e.g. parents) in the total income for the purpose of applying this tax bonus.
• For the first time, it will be possible to combine tax bases for the purpose of applying the tax bonus when filing a tax return for the 2023 tax period.

Practical application:

A taxpayer, employee, has two dependent children under the age of 15, meaning they are entitled to a tax bonus of €100 per month per child beginning 1 January 2023. If they taxpayer works the entire year, the annual tax bonus in the full amount for both children totals €2,400. The tax bonus may only be used if the annual tax base (the partial tax base under §5 of the Income Tax Act) is at least €8,888.89 as the percentage limit for two children is 27% of the partial tax base (27 % x €8,889.89 = €2,400). To clarify, this hypothetical limit is the average monthly gross pay rounded to the nearest Euro cent of €855.36 (the partial tax base of €8.888.89 increased by statutory deductions for annual gross pay of €10,264.31; the monthly gross pay is then €10,264.31 / 12 = €855.36).

If the taxpayer does not generate a sufficient tax base, they will be able to top up the unclaimed tax bonus by voluntarily filing a tax return, in which they increase their partial tax base by using the partial tax base of, for example, their spouse (only a partial tax base under §5 or §6 (1) and (2) of the Income Tax Act, or their total for the year 2023), who lives with them in a shared household. This is only possible under the expectation that the spouse will be eligible for the tax bonus in 2023 (i.e. they are the other eligible person supporting a dependent child in the household). The given recalculation of the partial tax base is simply designed to determine eligibility for the child tax bonus. The financial administration will provide further details as to how taxpayers should proceed in the new individual tax return form (for example, in the instructions for the individual tax return form).

The amendment to the Income Tax Act also proposes a change in the registration process for income tax purposes.

• The manner in which select types of taxpayers register for income tax purposes is changed in §49a (1), (2), (12) and (13) effective 1 January 2023. The tax administrator will register taxpayers for income tax under its official authority using data from the register of legal entities, entrepreneurs and public authorities entered in the commercial register and the trade license register based on notification from the Financial Directorate of the Slovak Republic and published on its website.

Part 1 of the Newsletter can be found at:

https://www.moore-bdr.sk/en/navrh-zakona-ktorym-sa-meni-a-doplna-zakon-c-595-2003-z-z-o-dani-z-prijmov-v-zneni-neskorsich-predpisov/

An overview of additional changes is provided below.

Generačná výmena v rodinnej firme je dlhý proces odovzdania kapitálu nástupcom. Konflity pomôže riešiť externý poradca.

Rozširovaním rodiny sa komplikuje aj riadenie rodinného podniku. Už nebude riadený individuálne zakladateľom, ale bude riadený viacerými osobami cez valné zhromaždenie (prípadne členskú schôdzu pri družstve). Preto je potrebné nastaviť vyššie požiadavky na riadenie, pričom by sa mali tieto požiadavky medzigeneračne s pribúdajúcim počtom rodinných príslušníkov zvyšovať.

Rodinný podnik sa môže ocitnúť v situácii, v ktorej rodina chce byť súčasťou riadenia podniku, ale môže byť aj v situácii, v ktorej  rodinní príslušníci chcú byť iba v pozícii majiteľov. Riadenie rodinného podniku prenechajú na iné osoby mimo rodiny.

Pri zamestnávaní rodinných príslušníkov je potrebné si uvedomiť, že takýto „zamestnanec“ musí dosahovať kvality akéhokoľvek iného zamestnanca v rodinnom podniku a nemal by byť zásadne zvýhodňovaný.  V opačnom prípade bude predstavovať pre podnik nevýhodu oproti bežným podnikom a zároveň bude spôsobovať pocit menejcennosti v zamestnancoch, ktorí do rodiny nepatria. Preto je vhodné uvažovať o výbere štúdia potomkov zakladateľa v kontexte rodinného podnikania čím skôr. Prax však ukazuje, že to nie  podmienkou, keďže aj potomkovia bez štúdia zameraného na sféru, ktorej sa venuje konkrétne rodinné podnikanie, dokážu byť plnohodnotnou súčasťou rodinného podnikania. Z toho dôvodu je v tejto situácii oveľa podstatnejšia kvalita rodinných vzťahov (v porovnaní so situáciou, v ktorej rodinný podnik nezamestnáva rodinných príslušníkov).

Pri dosadení externých ľudí mimo rodiny do najcitlivejších pozícií v rámci rodinného podnikania je potrebné, aby si rodina držala od takéhoto strategického zamestnanca odstup a nezávislosť. To však neznamená, že v rámci rodinného podniku by sa nemala udržovať rodinná atmosféra aj pre externých zamestnancov mimo rodiny. Je však potrebné týchto zamestnancov kontrolovať podobnými mechanizmami, akými to robia nerodinné podniky (a to platí aj pre zamestnaných rodinných príslušníkov). Avšak aj externí zamestnanci mimo rodiny môžu byť správne motivovaní a uprednostňovať záujmy rodinnej firmy pred svojimi individuálnymi záujmami, preto je potrebné pristupovať ku každému externému zamestnancovi individuálne. Z pozície externého manažéra je dôležité pochopiť konkrétne rodinné podnikanie, ktoré, vyplývajúc z praxe, funguje podľa svojich zaužívaných postupov odlišne od bežných firiem. Každá rodinná firma má svoje špecifiká, s ktorými sa musí externý manažér kreatívne vyrovnať.

Či už sa rodinní príslušníci rozhodnú stať súčasťou rodinného podnikania, alebo zostanú iba v pozadí, je vhodné najať externého človeka (poradcu) mimo rodiny, aj mimo rodinného podnikania, ktorý nie je s rodinou spriaznený (resp. nezvýhodňuje žiadneho člena rodiny).  Tento poradca dokáže poskytnúť nezávislý názor v prípade konfliktu záujmov medzi rodinnými príslušníkmi, prípadne medzi rodinnými príslušníkmi a strategickými externými zamestnancami.

Článok vyšiel aj na blogu SME: https://blog.sme.sk/kino/ekonomika/rodinne-firmy-pre-rodinnu-firmu-je-vhodny-externy-poradca-pomoze-riesit-aj-konflikty-4-cast 

National Council of the Slovak Republic is currently discussing a draft act to amend Act 595/2003 on Income Tax, as amended (the Income Tax Act) and which amends Act 563/2009 on Tax Administration (Tax Code) and amendment of certain acts, as amended. The current status of the draft act may be monitored at: https://www.slov-lex.sk/legislativne-procesy/SK/LP/2022/408.

This act is set to enter into force on two dates:  1 January 2023 and 1 January 2024. Given that some of the changes are set to take effect less than six months from now, we have prepared an overview of the changes that the new act will introduce into the Income Tax Act and the dates on which they take effect.

Multiple changes take effect on 1 January 2023 concerning the definition of dependent parties, the application of transfer pricing rules, and the assessment of permanent establishments.

An overview of the main changes in these areas and their potential application into practice is provided below.

• 2 (o), first subsection was amended to include an addendum according to which the ownership interests of close persons are combined and if their total is at least 25%, the relevant parties or entities are then considered economically linked.

Practical application:

The goal of the act is to define a situation where, for example, one spouse holds a 100% ownership interest in company A, and a 15% ownership interest in company B and the other spouse holds a 15% ownership interest in company B. Under existing provisions, company A and company B were not linked, but under the new provisions they are considered linked companies.

• 2 (r) was reformulated with respect to the definition of dependent foreign entities, but this term is not used further in the Income Tax Act. The draft provisions define economic links in the case of permanent establishments, which has been missing in the current version of the Income Tax Act.;

Practical application:

Relations between permanent establishments and their founders, relations between permanent establishments of the same “founder” and the fall under the term of economically linked and they must be handled as dependent entities and their transfer pricing policies must be reviewed.

• 2 (ab) contains the definition of a controlled transaction and is amended per the change to §2 (r), whereby a relationship between a taxpayer with unlimited tax liability and its permanent establishment abroad is still considered a controlled transaction, and the same is applied to the relationship between a taxpayer with limited tax liability and its permanent establishments in Slovakia and the relationship between the permanent establishments of linked taxpayers under letter n) and the mutual relationship between these permanent establishments and taxpayers. A negative definition of a controlled transaction is also added to the provisions. In general, dependent activity, the income from which falls under §5 of the Income Tax Act is not considered a controlled transaction, regardless of if performed by an employee of the dependent entity, a partner, or a managing director.;

Practical application:

If for example a managing director or partner receives income from dependent activity, this relationship is not considered a controlled transaction and is therefore not subject to transfer pricing.

• Letters d) and e) in §17 (1) are amended and allow a foreign taxpayer doing business in Slovakia through a permanent establishment to define the tax base of this permanent establishment as the difference between the income and expenses attributable to the permanent establishment. Such income and expenses would be determined from the accounting or other similar records of the foreign taxpayer. This change helps to improve the standing of taxpayers that maintain a permanent establishment in Slovakia, but who are not obliged to maintain accounting in accordance with Slovak accounting regulations.;

Practical application:

If a foreign taxpayer has a permanent establishment without any organisational unit, they would have had to determine their tax base from the income and expenses under current legislation if they did not voluntarily decide to maintain their accounting under Slovak legislation. Now they will be able to use the income and expenses maintained in this foreign taxpayer’s own records.

• The amendment of §17 (5) adds a definition of a significant controlled transaction which does not include any legal relationship or similar relationship under which no dependent entity generates taxable income or taxable expenditure in the given tax period in excess of €10,000 (which does not apply in the case of credit or a loan with principle exceeding €10,000). The purpose of this stipulation is to reduce the administrative burden on entrepreneurs for low-value transactions.;

Practical application:

Example 1: A taxpayer has conclude an agreement to provide consulting services with a dependent entity within which the dependent entity provides them with consulting services. Within the relevant tax period, the taxpayer recorded expenses totalling €20,000 but only actually paid €5,000. Under §17 (19) of the act, expenses for consulting services only constitute part of the tax base after payment. A legal relationship or similar relationship under which no dependent entity generates taxable income or taxable expenses in the given tax period in excess of €10,000 is not considered a significant controlled transaction.  This agreement to provide consulting services is considered a significant controlled transaction as the consulting service provider generated taxable income of €20,000 in the given tax period.

Example 2: A taxpayer purchases a pre-built structure from a dependent entity for €108,000. The building itself falls into the 4th depreciation group with a 12-year tax depreciation period. The taxpayer’s annual tax depreciation is €9,000. This transaction will be a significant controlled transaction in the year of the purchase / sale of the building as the seller generated taxable income of €108,000 from this transaction in the given tax period. The transaction will not be considered a significant controlled transaction in the following tax periods when the taxpayer applies the annual tax depreciation in the amount of €9,000.

• Entitlement to a corresponding tax base adjustment is added to §17 (6) in cases where the primary adjustment is performed by a Slovak legal entity and the counterparty to the transaction is the Slovak permanent establishment of a non-resident.;

Practical application:

A foreign taxpayer has established a permanent establishment in Slovakia and also has a subsidiary company in Slovakia in which it holds a 100% ownership interest. The subsidiary performs an adjustment under §17 (5)(a) of the Income Tax Adjustment with respect to the permanent establishment, and therefore increase its tax base by €10,000 in its tax return.  The permanent establishment may then reduce its tax base by €10,000.

• The provisions of §17 (7) of the Income Tax Act are amended given the need to align them with current OECD methodology for defining the tax base of permanent establishments. The purpose of the proposed changes is to specify the wording of the act, to harmonise it with OECD methodology, including the assessment of expenses (costs) demonstrably incurred by the founder of the permanent establishment for the purposes of this permanent establishment, including expenses (costs) for management and general administrative expenses (costs). Moreover, these provisions resolve the issue of including costs into the tax base if the taxpayer incurs costs before the establishment of a permanent establishment / after its dissolution.

Practical application:

Income (revenues) and expenses (costs) attributable to a permanent establishment in Slovakia and incurred by its founder prior to its establishment are reported in the first tax return filed for this permanent establishment.

• To improve legal certainty, the proposed change in §18 (1) adds a reference to the OECD Guidelines on transfer pricing (“Transfer Pricing Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and Tax Administrations”), which is generally used as an interpretive guide for the area of transfer pricing. The tax administrator’s procedure has also been added to the provisions to provide additional legal certainly with respect to situations when prices used by a taxpayer in a transaction with a dependent entity do not correspond to the principle of an arms-length relationship.;

Practical application:

The taxpayer uses the net trading margin method. Based on data from the database of independent companies, the tax administrator determines the range of profit mark-up values from 1.5 – 8.3% with a mean value of 5.3% (median).  Despite the fact that the quartile range (0.25% – 0.75% quartile) is from 3.5 to 7.5% in the given case, the tax administrator determines an independent profit surcharge at the level of 5.3% during the tax audit. However, the taxpayer is of the opinion that the lower limit of the quartile range is more appropriate in his case, i.e. 3.5%. If the taxpayer is able to demonstrate this fact, the tax administrator will adjust the tax base according to this value.

• Multiple changes in terminology appear in §18 (2) and (3) but these are primarily changes intended to harmonise with the latest OECD methodology, to better differentiate methods or as a result of changes to other definitions in the Income Tax Act.
• 18 (5) is expanded and for the purpose of eliminating problems when issuing decisions on bilateral and multilateral approval of the use of a valuation method, in the event that the competent authorities have agreed on the use of a valuation method also for taxation periods prior to the submission of the application (so-called “rollback”), and the possibility to issue a decision for more than five tax periods.;
• 18 (11) has been amended to eliminate enduring issues that have been caused in practice by the current version of §18 (11) of the Income Tax Act with regards to the procedure for submitting documentation, and to facilitate the submission of documentation in a foreign language and then, should the tax administrator request such documentation in the official state language, it may call on the taxpayer to do so, who then has 15 days from receipt of this notification to provide the documentation in the official state language.;

An overview of additional changes is provided below.

Jedným z hlavných dôvodov konsolidácie majetku rodiny je daňovo-odvodový aspekt a ochrana majetku pre ďalšie generácie.

Ak sa napríklad predáva spoločnosť na úrovni FO (fyzickej osoby), môže byť zdanenie v najhoršom prípade až 25 % (+ 14 % zdravotné odvody). Naopak, pri predaji na úrovni PO (právnickej osoby) môže byť zdanenie a celkový daňovo-odvodový dosah, za predpokladu splnenia určitých podmienok, nulové.

Aj napriek tomu, že v súčasnosti nie je zavedená daň z darovania alebo z dedičstva, podľa aktuálnej právnej úpravy darovacia zmluva podobne ako závet nemôže obsahovať príkazy alebo podmienky pre obdarovaných, dedičov.

Predstavme si napríklad situáciu zakladateľa firmy, ktorý má syna a dcéru, ktorí po smrti zakladateľa firmy zdedia každý 50 % podiel vo firme. Dcéra chce pokračovať v podnikaní podľa vzoru svojho otca a syn chce predať svoj podiel vo firme a postaviť si dom, pretože ho do toho tlačí jeho manželka. Synovi nič nebráni v predaji jeho podielu, takže svoj podiel predá zahraničnému investorovi ako FO, lebo dcéra nemá dostatok finančných prostriedkov na vyplatenie podielu svojho brata. Dcéra sa rozhodne nakoniec taktiež predať svoj podiel vo firme ako FO, lebo sa nevie so zahraničným investorom dohodnúť na spoločnom riadení a smerovaní firmy. Zahraničný investor chce z malej rodinnej firmy vybudovať medzinárodnú korporáciu a ponúkol dcére zakladateľa vyššiu sumu, ako je súčasná trhová hodnota jej obchodného podielu. Ďalšie rodinné podnikanie, ktoré malo potenciál živiť generácie potomkov, takto „zaniklo“ a navyše bolo aj neefektívne zdanené.

Všeobecne najuznávanejšou metódou, ako dosiahnuť tieto ciele, je, ako sme už spomenuli v predchádzajúcom článku, konsolidácia majetku viacerých spoločností v rámci jednej rodinnej firmy, t. j. pomocou rodinného holdingu. V Slovenskej republike je holding definovaný zatiaľ iba v teoretickej rovine, čo znamená, že sa využívajú  inštitúty, ktoré nie sú holding, ale sú „povahovo“ najbližšie k holdingu (viac o holdingu nájdete aj v článku z 8. 2. 2022 Majetok rodinnej firmy ochráni holding).

Rodinná holdingová spoločnosť je väčšinou akciová spoločnosť alebo spoločnosť s ručením obmedzeným (ojedinele družstvo), ktorá sa používa na účel držby a správy aktív a majetkových účastí v dcérskych spoločnostiach rodinnej firmy.

Najvýhodnejšími  formami pre rodinný holding na území Slovenskej republiky sú spoločnosť s ručením obmedzeným, ktorá je tradične najpreferovanejšou formou podnikania v rámci obchodných spoločností u nás, a akciová spoločnosť.

Okrem bežných výhod spoločnosti s ručením obmedzeným z pohľadu rodinného holdingu je možné napríklad v jej spoločenskej zmluve vylúčiť prevod obchodného podielu na tretie osoby, prípadne ho podriadiť súhlasu valného zhromaždenia alebo vylúčiť prechod obchodného podielu na právneho nástupcu spoločníka. Tiež je možné stanoviť, že obchodný podiel nebude predmetom dedenia. Spoločnosť s ručením obmedzeným má zvyčajne tiež nižšie „prevádzkové“ náklady oproti akciovej spoločnosti.

Na druhej strane, v určitých prípadoch môže byť výhodnejšia akciová spoločnosť. Výhodou akciovej spoločnosti je neobmedzený počet akcionárov (v s. r. o. môže byť maximálne 50 spoločníkov), akcionár neručí za záväzky spoločnosti (spoločník s. r. o. ručí za záväzky spoločnosti do výšky svojho nesplateného vkladu zapísaného v obchodnom registri) a určitá miera anonymity, keďže z výpisu z obchodného registra nie je možné zistiť identitu akcionárov spoločnosti za predpokladu, že sú viacerí (viac ako jeden).

Aj napriek tomu, že rodinný holding chráni majetok rodiny, je možné ho doplniť v prípade veľkých majetkov rodiny o zverenecký alebo súkromný nadačný fond, ktorý zverí vyčlenený majetok do správy tretej osobe (správcovi). Základným princípom je preto oddelenie majetku od rodiny. Rodina majetok nevlastní, má však naň zásadný vplyv a môže využívať benefity z fondu (vo fonde môže byť umiestnený akýkoľvek majetok). Táto „nadstavba“ zabezpečí rodine zníženie rizík vyplývajúcich z možného zvyšovania daňových sadzieb, zavedenia dane z dedičstva, tzv. „milionárskej“ dane alebo dane z bohatstva, ktorá je zavedená napríklad v škandinávskych krajinách. Zároveň tento majetok nie je predmetom dedenia a je udržiavaný v celku. Tiež sa môžu určiť pravidlá a klásť podmienky na využívanie majetku vo fonde (na rozdiel od závetu pri dedičskom konaní).

Zverenecký a súkromný nadačný fond nie sú zatiaľ zahrnuté do slovenskej legislatívy, ale je možné založiť ich v Českej republike.

Článok vyšiel aj na blogu SME: https://blog.sme.sk/kino/ekonomika/rodinne-firmy-najvyhodnejsou-formou-pre-rodinny-holding-je-s-r-o-alebo-a-s-3-cast