With the draft, the government is proposed to develop an action plan to support Estonian residents living in rural areas. To this end, proposals are made to develop additional measures to support the acquisition of housing and housing reconstruction in rural areas of Estonia; to allocate financial resources from the state budget to continue with the rental housing program and to supplement the sparse settlement program with state support to improve the possibilities of remote work and fast to connect to the Internet.
The changes made in the bill extend the universal service measure developed to mitigate the energy crisis to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, which, like home consumers, are a target group directly affected by the energy crisis and vulnerable.
The bill proposes that the government come up with a new package of support measures to compensate for high energy prices for the upcoming heating period from September 2022 to May 2023 for both domestic consumers and legal entities.
The bill proposes to abolish network fees for electricity and natural gas for the mentioned period and to set a ceiling on the price of district heating, electricity and gas at the level of the first half of 2021 and compensate all end consumers of electricity in the period September 2022 - May 2023 for 80% of the part exceeding the price ceiling set for district heating, electricity and gas prices.
The bill adopts the EU directive into Estonian law, which provides for making the payment of tolls within the European Union more convenient, while establishing the regulation of cross-border information exchange in case of non-payment of tolls.
Despite the fact that the road user fee is not collected in Estonia through automatic detection, the directive must be adopted to the minimum mandatory extent, that is, the part resulting from the European electronic toll collection on the right of service (EETS) providers to register their activities in every EU member state. Therefore, in accordance with the directive, each member state must provide requirements for the technologies and equipment used and stipulate the rights and obligations of both service providers and users.
The bill creates a legal basis for checking the special system of motor vehicles and trailers. Considering the rapid development of technology and the possible need to respond flexibly to the introduction of new technologies, the draft establishes a general framework for the inspection of special systems and the authorities engaged in inspection. In particular, this concerns the fuel tanks of vehicles currently running on natural gas. The purpose of the innovation is to ensure compressed natural gas as fuel and safety of vehicles consuming liquefied natural gas.
According to the plan, starting from 2021, vehicles that consume natural gas must undergo mandatory regular inspections, where the fuel tanks of these vehicles are checked for compliance with the requirements.
In general, the safety of vehicles is ensured through a regular technical inspection, which is supplemented by a check of compliance with technical requirements during traffic supervision, but the fuel tanks of vehicles using natural gas are mostly covered or located on the roof of the vehicle, which means that their condition cannot be adequately assessed during the technical inspection. Also, the inspection requires the possession of professional knowledge, for example, the competence to assess micro-damages of the fuel tank, etc., which is not practical to expect from all technical inspectors.
With the draft, the EU directive establishing the European Electronic Communications Code (Communications Directive) is transposed into Estonian law, the deadline for transposition is December 21, 2020.
The explanatory letter states that compared to 2002, when the telecommunications market was liberalized and a new legal framework was adopted, the electronic communications market has developed rapidly and the electronic communications sector has become a more important part of economic life. Communications sector is an enabler of the digital economy. Along with this, the behavior habits of electronic communication service consumers have also changed, instead of traditional communication services (telephone and mobile phone service), new services based on data, so-called OTT services (Over The Top service), are increasingly used, which offer services similar to traditional communication services. Examples of OTT services are Skype, WhatsApp, Viber, etc.
The bill increases consumer rights, primarily in the form of pre-contractual information and a brief summary of the contract. With pre-contractual information, the consumer is given the most detailed overview of the communication service offered, which should prevent misunderstandings between the communication service stipulated in the contract and reality.
The agreement must be ratified in the Riigikogu, because with the agreement the Republic of Estonia joins an international organization and it regulates tax issues, giving CERN's assets and income a tax exemption.
CERN was founded on September 29, 1954, when the Convention establishing the European Organization for Nuclear Research entered into force. The purpose of the organization is to ensure cooperation between European countries in pure and fundamental scientific nuclear research and those essentially related to it in the field of research. CERN is headquartered in Geneva.
For Estonian entrepreneurs, the merger enables the transfer of knowledge, especially in the field of high technology, but also opens up wider opportunities to participate in CERN tenders. After a period of 2-5 years of associate membership, Estonia becomes a full member of CERN and signs a new agreement that replaces this agreement. Associate membership prior to full membership is mandatory for new member states. As a full member additional opportunities will open up for Estonia, as the upper limit of the amount that can be recovered from CERN will disappear. During the period of associate membership, the amount refundable cannot exceed the membership fee, and there is no right to vote in the council.
The bill creates relevant traffic rules and requirements for the use of electric scooters and other light electric vehicles in the interest of safety and the safety of road users. A new category of vehicles will be introduced - light scooter, which includes various electric vehicles designed to be carried by one person, such as electric scooters, electric skateboards, balance scooters and other such vehicles without a seat vehicles.
The bill provides for allowing light mobility vehicles to drive primarily in the environment intended for pedestrians and cyclists, with the exception of the roadway. The requirements for crossing the road and the obligations to give way, as well as the responsibilities of the driver of a light vehicle to ensure safety, are regulated. The maximum driving speed for light scooters is set at 25 km/h, while in the immediate vicinity of pedestrians you must drive at a speed that does not endanger pedestrians.
It is required to drive on the road with a light scooter Drivers of 10-15-year-old scooters are entitled to drive a bicycle, and drivers under the age of 16 must wear a helmet with an attached strap when driving on the road.
Also, requirements are established for the power of light scooters, the use of reflectors and lights, the maximum permitted width of light scooters, requirements for stopping and parking, and fine rates for violating traffic regulations are established.
Cyclists, mini-moped and moped drivers are additionally specified requirements, especially those related to their location on the road and obligations to give way.
Eelnõuga kaotatakse põhjendamatu erisus, mille tõttu ei ole Eestis kehtiv energiamajanduse korralduse seadus kooskõlas Euroopa Liidu energiatõhususe vastava direktiiviga.
Direktiiviga on vastuolus kehtiva seaduse säte, mille järgi ei pidanud suurettevõtjast jaotusvõrguettevõtjad ja ülekandevõrguettevõtjad koostama regulaarseid energiaauditeid. Erisuse kaotamisel peavad edaspidi energiaauditeid tegema ka Elektrilevi OÜ ja AS Tallinna Sadam.
Eelnõuga võetakse üle ELi finantsinstrumentide turgude vastav direktiiv, mille põhieesmärk on investorite kaitse tugevdamine. Finantsturgudel tegutseb üha rohkem investoreid, samas muutuvad pakutavad teenused ja väärtpaberid järjest keerukamaks. Eelnõul on mõju eelkõige nendele investeerimisühingutele, mis peavad oma tööprotsesse täiustama ja välja töötama või oma sisekorda parandama.
Eelnõu näeb ette vähendada turule toodava pakendi koguseid ning suunata tootjaid ja maaletoojaid kasutama keskkonnasõbralikumast materjalist pakendit. Selleks muudetakse pakendiaktsiis kaheastmeliseks. Maksustama hakatakse pakendite turule toomist ning jätkatakse kehtiva sihtarvudeni taaskasutamata jäetud pakendi maksustamist.
Eelnõu näeb ette anda Riigikogule sisuline kaasarääkimise võimalus eelarvestrateegia vastuvõtmisel, mis sisaldab õigust eelarvestrateegiat vajadusel muuta ja täiendada.
Eelnõu tugevdab jaeinvestori kaitset ja suurendab nende usaldust kombineeritud kindlustuse investeerimisvõimaluste ja kindlustusel põhinevate toodete vastu, milleks on näiteks investeerimisfondid, investeerimisriskiga elukindlustuslepingud, struktureeritud tooted ja investeerimishoiused.
Eelnõuga tõstetakse maksustatava käibe piirmäära, mille ületades tekib ettevõtlusega tegeleval isikul kohustus end registreerida käibemaksukohustuslasena ning täiendada kaupade nimekirja, millele rakendatakse käibemaksuarvestuses erikorda – pöördmaksustamist.
Eelnõu eesmärk on suurendada kohalikele omavalitsustele laekuvat residendist füüsilise isiku maksustatavat tulu osa 2019. aastaks 12,13 protsendini tänase 11,4 protsendi asemel.
Eelnõuga muudetakse riigilõivumäärasid lähtudes ekvivalendipõhimõttest või kulupõhimõttest Keskkonnaministeeriumi, Kultuuriministeeriumi, Siseministeeriumi, Sotsiaalministeeriumi, Majandus- ja Kommunikatsiooniministeeriumi haldusalas ning välisesindustes toimingute tegemisel. Muudatus avaldab mõju kõikidele ettevõtjatele ja ka füüsilistele isikutele, kes maksavad riigilõive vastavate toimingute tegemise või lubade väljastamise või muutmise korral. Muudatus tervikuna ei too ettevõtjatele ja füüsilistele isikutele kaasa uusi kohustusi ega nõua neilt täiendavaid tegevusi.
Eelnõu eemärk on ära jätta 2017. aastale planeeritud majutusteenuste käibemaksu tõstmine 14 protsendile ning seda säilitada 9 protsendi tasemel, nagu see on praegu. See võimaldab säilitada sektori ettevõtete konkurentsivõimet ja töökohti, eriti maakohtades paiknevate väiksemate majutusasutuste osas.
Seadusega ratifitseeritakse Eesti Vabariigi valitsuse ja Hiina Rahvavabariigi valitsuse vahelise tulumaksuga topeltmaksustamise vältimise ning maksudest hoidumise tõkestamise lepingu muutmise protokoll.