Slovakia: Finance and Banking

Effective 1 March 2024, financial assistance, i.e., the so-called whitewash procedure, is allowed for joint-stock companies, subject to certain conditions.

Capital is a critical component for generating economic output.

In reference to the new Postal Services Act which represents full liberalisation of the postal market, the Postal Regulatory Office published a draft of the new General Permission under which postal services will be provided by all alternative postal services providers.

Over the past 20 years Slovakia has gained extensive experience in privatisation as part of the process of transferring state property into private hands. Slovakia’s privatisation backlog started shortly after the fall of the Iron Curtain, continues to the present day and, apparently, will have to be dealt with for some time to come.

Structures involving Dutch or Luxembourg companies are commonly used for inbound investments in the Slovak Republic. An important reason for this is the extensive double tax treaty network of both countries eliminating or reducing withholding taxes on interest paid from Slovakia as well as the domestic participation exemption on dividends and capital gains enabling a tax free exit from investments in Slovak companies.

Act 510/2002 on Payment Systems took effect on January 1 2003. It is the first domestic law to regulate payment transactions and was drafted to ensure compliance with EU law.