Final Word from Thursday, January 5, 2017
Andrej Babiš's decision yesterday to cancel the EET "ratting" website is a major climbdown. He said he didn't even know about the page that allowed people to inform on a business that didn't provide an EET receipt (whether it was true or not that no receipt was given). The objective was never to get people to inform, he said. Oh, really? Encouraging the public to take part in enforcing EET was a stated objective of the law. The EET lottery is based on the same principle. As we wrote in Dec., Babiš's people are only telling half the truth when they say the aim of the lottery is to get people to take a receipt. If this were true, it would be enough to announce winning "lottery" numbers. Instead, participants must register themselves and each receipt. Entering an invalid receipt code, whether in error or intentionally, is the same as using the web page that Babiš canceled yesterday. Logically, if he cancels that "ratting" site, he should also cancel the lottery. [Czech Republic informant online sales-reporting system internet]
Glossary of difficult words
to rat (on someone) - to inform (on someone);
climbdown - reversal of or withdrawal from a previous position;
stated objective of the law - one of the stated "pillars" of the EET online sales-reporting system is to "allow the public to participate voluntarily in monitoring enforcement of the law" ("umožnění dobrovolného zapojení veřejnosti do kontroly dodržování zákona").