Izravne investicije u hrvatska društva osoba – porezna pitanja

The bilateral economic relations between Austria and Croatia are of prime importance to both countries: more than one quarter of foreign investments realised in Croatia stem from Austrian sources. Indeed, Austria is the largest investor in Croatia. Although the Croatian legal framework provides for several investment possibilities, Austrian residents prefer to invest in Croatian capital companies. However, especially from the perspective of Austrian residents, substantial tax benefits may result from the pursuit of entrepreneurial activities in the form of Croatian personal companies. This is mainly due to the different tax systems applied in Austria and Croatia that treat personal companies in fundamentally different ways. Nevertheless, diverging tax systems can trigger qualification and allocation conflicts in treaty law and may result in double (non-)taxation. The open questions are how to ascertain tax benefits despite these conflicts, i.e. how these conflicts can be solved by virtue of the double tax treaty concluded between Austria and Croatia. This paper illuminates the qualification and allocation conflicts which occur from participations of Austrian residents in Croatian personal companies and provides solutions for such conflicts. Moreover, the tax benefits resulting from investments in Croatian personal companies are identified and highlighted.Bilateralni ekonomski odnosi između Austrije i Hrvatske iznimno su važni za obje države: više od četvrtine stranih izravnih investicija u Hrvatskoj potječe iz Austrije. Austrija je najveći ulagač u Hrvatskoj. Iako hrvatski pravni okvir nudi različite mogućnosti za investicije, austrijski rezidenti preferiraju ulaganja u hrvatska društva kapitala. Austrijski rezidenti koji obavljaju poduzetničku djelatnost u obliku društava osoba osobito mogu steći znatne porezne pogodnosti. Razlog za porezne pogodnosti su austrijski i hrvatski porezni sustavi koji se u temelju razlikuju što se tiče poreznog tretmana društava osoba. Unatoč poreznim pogodnostima, različiti porezni sustavi mogu izazvati različite sukobe u slučaju primjenjivanja ugovora o izbjegavanju dvostrukog oporezivanja, takozvane qualification and allocation conflicts. Nadalje mogu prouzrokovati dvostruko oporezivanje ili situaciju u kojoj obje države ne oporezuju prihod. U tom kontekstu je otvoreno pitanje kako ustanoviti porezne pogodnosti unatoč problemima vezanim uz primjenjivanje ugovora o izbjegavanju dvostrukog oporezivanja. U radu se prikazuju sukobi koji nastaju primjenjivanjem ugovora o izbjegavanju dvostrukog oporezivanja između Austrije i Hrvatske u slučaju ulaganja austrijskih rezidenata u hrvatska društva osoba. U radu su detaljnije prikazana rješenja za sve pronađene vrste sukoba i porezne pogodnosti koje rezultiraju ulaganjem u hrvatska društva osoba

Battling Extinction: Can Emphasising Different Features of Native Bats invoke Support for their Conservation?

New Zealand native bats, the short-tailed bat (Mystacina tuberculata) and long-tailed bat (Chalinolobus tuberculatus) are threatened with extinction in the next 40 years. The current study was undertaken to find out which facts about native bat biology would prove most effective in garnering public support for their conservation, as a way to aid their long-term survival. Three short films were made in order to test whether emphasising different kinds of information would affect viewers’ willingness to donate and volunteer to bat conservation efforts. One hundred and twenty participants were recruited and each randomly assigned to one of four conditions. The audio narratives in the film conditions stressed bat (1) intelligence and similarities to humans; (2) usefulness to humans, or; (3) a control film (no such audio). The remaining group completed a survey without watching a film. Overall, the film emphasising bats’ usefulness was more effective than the other videos in influencing willingness to donate and volunteer. Those participants who identified “cute” as the word they felt best represented bats were most likely to report liking bats. Surprisingly, whether or not people liked bats did not have a strong influence on whether they would donate to bat conservation. By contrast, those who found the videos most interesting were more willing to donate to bat conservation efforts than their peers. Females exhibited more negative attitudes towards bats than males across all treatment conditions. The information gained from this exploratory pilot study could be of significant use to government groups, other NGOs and individuals who are attempting to raise awareness and funds for the protection of endangered bats

Study of the alternative medicine use among the population of Serbia

Sažetak: Uvod: Komplementarna i alternativna medicina (KAM) obuhvataju veći broj različitih dijagnostičkih i terapijskih postupaka, koji ne pripadaju konvencionalnoj medicini, kao i upotrebu različitih prirodnih proizvoda koji se koriste u svrhu ozdravljenja ili isceljenja obolelih. Cilj istraživanja: Ispitati uticaj sociodemografskik karakteristika, zdravstvenog stanja, obrazaca korišćenja i potrošnje zdravstvenih usluga ispitanika na korišćenje metoda komplementarne i alternativne medicine Materijal i metod: Analiza podataka poslednjeg, trećeg Nacionalnog istraživanja zdravstvenog stanja stanovnika Srbije, po tipu studije preseka. Ispitivanu populaciju činilo je odraslo stanovništvo, starosti 15 i više godina koje koriste KAM. Rezultati: Usluge KAM (n=550) najčešće koriste osobe ženskog pola, srednje životne dobi, srednjoškolskog obrazovanja, koje su zaposlene, žive u gradovima, prate teme vezane za zdravlje, prema indeksu blagostanja spadaju u bogatije. Korisnici KAM najčešće nikada nisu radili skrining testove na karcinom kolona, grlića materice i dojke. Faktorskom analizom izdvojeno je 7 faktora: zdravstveno stanje (najjače faktorsko opterećenje), ekonomski faktor, starost, OTC preparati (lekovi u slobodnoj prodaji), neostavrena potreba za zdravstvenom zaštitom, informisanost i zdravstvene usluge. OTC preparate koristi 2/3 korisnika usluga KAM-a, najčešće preparate za jačanje imuniteta, vitamine i lekove protiv bolova. Korisnici KAM koji su istovremeno i korisnici OTC preparata najčešće nisu bili na bolovanju, niti hospitalizovani, niti koristili usluge dnevne bolnice, hitne pomoći, ni kućnog lečenja u predhodnih 12 meseci. Zaključak: Istraživanje omogućava sagledavanje kako obima korišćenja alternativnih metoda lečenja, tako i sagledavanje glavnih osobina korisnika, demografskih, socioekonomskih i zdravstvenih. Sve ovo predstavlja put ka daljem prepoznavanju značaja metoda KAM i njihovom uvršćavanju u zvanične protokole Ministarstva zdravlja Republike Srbije za prevenciju i lečenje određenih poremećaja zdravlja.Abstract: Introduction: Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) includes several different diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, which do not belong to conventional medicine, as well as the use of various natural products used for the purpose of recovery or healing the sick. Aim of the research: To examine the influence of sociodemographic characteristics, health status, patterns of use and consumption of health services of respondents on the use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine methods. Material and method: Data analysis of the last, third National Health Survey of the Population of Serbia. The study population consisted of the adult population, aged 15 and over, using CAM. Results: CAM services (n = 550) are most often used by women, middle aged, with high school education, who are employed, live in cities, follow health-related topics, and are among the richer, according to the welfare index. CAM users have most often never done screening tests for cancer of the colon, cervix and breast. The factor analysis singled out 7 factors: health status (strongest factor load), economic factor, age, OTC preparations (Over-the-counter drug), unmet need for health care, information and health services. OTC preparations are used by 2/3 of users of CAM services, most often preparations for strengthening immunity, vitamins and painkillers. CAM users who are also users of OTC preparations were most often not on sick leave, nor hospitalized, nor used the services of a day hospital, emergency care, or home treatment in the previous 12 months. Conclusion: The research enables the consideration of the scope of use of alternative treatment methods, as well as the consideration of the main characteristics of users, demographic, socioeconomic and health. All this represents a way to further recognize the importance of KAM methods and their inclusion in the official protocols of the Ministry of Health for the prevention and treatment of certain health disorders, in Serbia

Causes of collapse and remedy of steel-tank roof structures

Prikazuju se rezultati analize uzroka rušenja krovnih konstrukcija čeličnih spremnika, a također i rješenja primijenjena pri sanaciji. Kao primjer uzeta su dva spremnika za loživo ulje u Zagrebu kod kojih je došlo do djelomičnog urušavanja čeličnih krovnih konstrukcija. Provedenom analizom je pokazano da je izvorni projekt imao više nedostataka u pogledu potpunosti i ispravnosti statičke obrade nosive konstrukcije (neodgovarajuči statički sustav i kombinacija opterečenja).Results obtained during analysis of the causes of collapse of roof structures of steel tanks are presented, and solutions applied during remedial activities are described. Two heating oil tanks in Zagreb, whose steel structures partly caved in, were used as an example. It was established in the analysis that several errors were made in the initial design, and that these errors concern the completeness and accuracy of static computations for the load bearing structure (inadequate static system and inappropriate load combination)

Health self-evaluation of complementary and alternative medicine users in Serbia: cross-sectional national study

The aim of the research was to examine the influence of the respondents' health status on the use of complementary and alternative medicine methods. This was a population-based, cross-sectional study. The sample consisted of 550 interviewed persons, from the third National health survey of the residents of Serbia in 2013, who had used complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) services in the preceding 12 months. Just over 2/3 of CAM users had chronic health disorders (p < 0.01), the most commonly diagnosed chronic health disorder among CAM users was hypertension (36.7%). Every seventh and partially every fourth CAM user had been seriously restricted as regards undertaking normal daily activities for the previous 6 months or longer. CAM users were more satisfied with the services they received in private practice (p < 0.01). The two out of three users of CAM services rated their health as good and/or average. CAM users were more satisfied with the services they received in private practice, the highest percentage of them rated their health as good. The analysis of the impact of respondents' health status, the analysis of the correlation between the respondents' self-health assessment and the use of alternative medicine methods, analysis of the impact of socio-demographic characteristics on the use of CAM, along with a comparative analysis of the use of health care services - would significantly contribute to better recognition of CAM by the Ministry of Health