Final Word from Monday, January 4, 2016

In an advertisement paid for with taxpayer money, the tax administration claims with regard to the new invoice-matching system that took effect on Jan. 1 that "the creation of tax statements in the required format is already standard in accounting programs." This is simply not true. MP Ivan Pilný of ANO went one further by saying that accounting companies will prepare the regular invoice-matching reports for their clients for free. How can a person with so much experience in business say this with a straight face? Director Martin Janeček of the GFŘ tax authority said that the reports provide nothing that the tax officials don't already have a right to, which is like the NSA saying that blanket eavesdropping doesn't vacuum up any information that the spy agency couldn't get with a FISA warrant. Janeček also said that confidential information is not required on the invoice-matching statement. When the Constitutional Court addresses invoice matching, it should ask itself why the people pushing the system are telling so many easily verifiable lies about it. [Czech Republic VAT Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act National Security Agency]