Tallinn rewarded officials with 132,000 euros.
Postimees Digest, Thursday, September 5
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Tallinn city government paid out bonuses in the total amount of 132,000 euros at the end of May and classified the corresponding directives for a period of seven years. This is the first time the city government has made efforts to hide performance pay of officials whereas bonuses are usually paid out towards the end of the year. The Data Protection Inspectorate obligated the city government to disclose the materials following a data request by Postimees. Bonuses were paid to city secretary Toomas Sepp, heads of all city departments and all borough elders in the total amount of 34,600 euros. Performance pay of the city chancellery's services and departments officials amounted to 94,340 euros. The paper highlights the fact that Tallinn's borough elders are all members of the ruling Center Party. City secretary Toomas Sepp said that performance pay is based on the new Public Service Act that warrants performance pay of 20 percent of annual salary to be paid out over the course of the legal year. Deputy chairman of the Tallinn city council, social democrat Jaak Juske said that such secrecy is unheard-of and inadmissible while Reform Party member Ain Seppik said the move is aimed at covering the Center Party's election expenses. "The fact that efforts were made to classify the sums serves as proof of this," Seppik added. The city has contested the Data Protection Inspectorate's precept in court as it claims the new Public Service Act defines some former officials as employees and does not prescribe disclosure of their salaries.
Debts between companies cut in half.
Recent payment behavior statistics from Krediidinfo suggest Estonia has 63,000 active companies that managed to cut mutual debts in half over the past year. Payment disorders fell by 55 percent in the first six months year-over-year from 105 million euros to 47 million euros. Tax debts of companies came down from 65 million euros to 49 million during the same period of time. Payment disorders and tax arrears were greatest in the accommodation and catering sector at 11.4 percent and 13.7 percent accordingly. Head of the Estonian Hotel and Restaurant Association Verni Loodmaa said that the reason for these difficulties does not lie in poor business models but rather excessive tax burden, and that the state should lower the VAT rate on catering and food in order to remedy the situation. Payment disorders and tax arrears grew the most among small businesses (10-49 employees) while they dropped in micro-enterprise (no more than 10 employees) that made up 90 percent of the sample.