--- title: Comical sections of the Income Tax Act date: 2021-07-08T12:39:43Z modified: 2024-05-28T10:29:29Z permalink: "https://grow.ee/tulumaksuseaduses-koomilisena-mojuvad-paragrahvid/" type: post status: publish excerpt: "" wpid: 6762 featured_image: "https://grow.ee/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/growing-investment.jpg" timestamp: 2024-05-28T10:29:29Z tags: - Taxes - Accounting --- ![](https://grow.ee/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/growing-investment-1024x580.jpg) ### **This is a simple banner** Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. You have your own business and are about to conclude your first major transactions. You don't have a proper office yet and you meet your business partners in cafes/restaurants. You have reached an agreement and as a thank you you bring your partner a gift. #### Did you imagine something fancy? And then the accountant happily announces that you can freely pay for your business partners' lunch at the restaurant for 32 euros. To clarify, this amount is for the whole month and for all business partners combined. You can freely buy a business gift for 10 euros. Now you quickly make corrections, from now on you will meet in a burger, because the partners came in large numbers and as a gift you bring, for example, matches, which are offered in a wide range and are enough for everyone. It is a pity that the Viljandi match factory has ceased operations. These amounts were written into the law at the moment when the euro began to arrive in Estonia, that is, 12 years ago. Do you still remember which restaurant and how many people you could go to for 500 kroons, or 32 euros? It should be no news to anyone that the value of money decreases over time and, as life shows us, the value of money has changed many times over that time. These amounts in this law give me an inferiority complex as a tax consultant. Lately, I have been telling my clients, who are mainly from outside Estonia, that it does not exist. At the moment, it seems that I would leave a more polite impression if I said that such a discount does not exist in Estonia, but then they are amazed how so, because in general, most people have such discounts. #### But now more seriously It would be better if fixed amounts were not written into the Income Tax Act, especially such small ones. Such small amounts: firstly, still leave us with the image of a very cheap country, which we are no longer, and secondly, they encourage people to buy "high-quality Chinese pacifiers" instead of Estonian products. Changing the law is a complicated enough process, even if you only change one number and especially if there is no will. Therefore, flexibly linking it to a certain period of time with an obligation to review it, for example by the Ministry of Finance or with some indicator (for example inflation), would have a much better effect. If the change of the income tax minimum and other similar things is carried out under pressure from interest groups, then there are no interest groups for the aforementioned amounts and they seem insignificant and therefore they will remain unchanged. The review of all amounts in the Income Tax Act could be carried out together and in accordance with changes in the real standard of living, following the original principle for which the amounts were written into the law. In addition to reputation, society would benefit from giving away unnecessary things. A smaller quantity, but a higher quality gift is an added value in itself. Yes, of course, you can also go to a restaurant for a larger amount if there are many employees and also buy gifts, paying additional taxes. But the main point is in which direction you want to show. Although matches are not unnecessary and if I were to go to a deserted island, this would be my first choice, what would I take with me?. But with whom will I promote business there? Grow does not sell matches, but we do offer tax advice and accounting. Feel free to contact us if it seems like we can help you. We will continue to resolve issues related to the reception of business partners and gifts. Ulvi Tallo