Czech Republic: Green cards to be launched next year
The Czech Chamber of Deputies has approved a bill that will replace the existing system of residence and work permits with a much simpler 'green card' approach.

If the bill is backed by the Senate and the Czech president, from January 1st 2009 a Czech employer unable to fill a job vacancy within 30 days of it being advertised will be able to put it on a central registry. In parallel with this process, nationals of approved non-EEA countries will be invited to apply for two-year green cards through the Czech embassies in their home countries. If successful, they will be entitled to apply for vacancies posted on the new central register. The green card will entitle them to take up any job from the register offered to them. Employers will then only have to inform the immigration authorities that the job has been filled and supply the green card number for the immigrant to legally begin work and take up residence in the Czech Republic.

Greece: Tax blow for employee shareholders
A financial reform package has been approved by the Greek government that introduces a new 10 percent tax on capital gains from share sales and also a further 10 percent tax on share dividends. Capital gains are currently taxed at 0.15 percent and dividends are tax-free. If approved by the Greek parliament, these tax changes will come into effect on January 1st 2009.

This decision comes at a time when stock prices are already depressed and improved market confidence will be a critical prerequisite for economic recovery. It will also hit executives and other employees currently participating in share ownership and share option schemes. Although the Greek government plans to reduce the middle band of income tax by one percentage point each year from 2009 - 2014, this will not offset the new tax liability for those with a substantial stake in their enterprise.

Russian Federation: Work permits hit quota limits
The Federal Migration Service (FMS) has stopped accepting applications for the employment of foreign workers in the Russian administrative areas of Moscow, St Petersburg (including the whole surrounding Leningrad region), Voronezh, Tula, and the Ivanovo regions, as well as in Karelia, Komi, and Dagestan.

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