News Parkiet

Politics

Belka seeks compromise over social spending

New prime minister Marek Belka will try to balance the need for fiscal responsibility with ?social awareness? without diluting planned cuts in public spending proposed by Minister of the Economy Jerzy Hausner. Belka, who took over from Leszek Miller on May 2nd, told PARKIET he will propose a plan to reduce spending on public administration and gradual staff cuts.

Politics

SLD demands government assistance

for failing power plant

A group of SLD deputies from Wielkopolska region in western Poland say they may vote against Marek Belka?s cabinet unless the government steps in to save Zespół Elektrowni PAK (ZE PAK) power plant in their home district. Their leader, senior SLD politician Józef Nowicki wants state-owned PSE power grid operator to take over operational control of the company, replacing publicly traded Elektrim power and telecoms group.

Real estate

GTC shares up 13.8 percent on IPO

Shares of Globe Trade Centre property developer rose 13.8 percent in heavy trading on their first day of trading in Warsaw after the company?s initial public offering that was almost five times oversubscribed by retail investors. The stock jumped to close at 99 zloty, up from IPO price of 87 zloty per share. Warsaw-based company raised 345 million zloty minus 9 million zloty IPO expenses in Poland?s biggest public offering in four years. Deutsche Bank unit FIC Globe sold GTC shares worth 83 million zloty.

Public finances

Government auditor slams Tax Office

over accounting practices

Polish tax inspectors routinely stretch internal regulations in order to collect large cash bonuses, government auditor Naczelna Izba Kontroli (NIK) said in a report published yesterday. By law, until mid-2003, Polish tax authorities got to keep 20 percent of their tax intake from taxpayers who refused to pay their debts as an incentive. Most of that money, some 2.8 billion zloty in total, was earmarked for bonuses that almost doubled average tax inspector?s monthly wages of 1765 zloty. NIK auditors say tax offices across the country often went overboard claiming credit for regular taxes in order to increase their bonuses.