• Manufacturers take the chemistry exam
• The state oppresses domestic investors
• Corporate tax is not deducted from employees
• Game area under the dining table
• Be careful with antibacterial coatings

Read everything that happened last week in Ukraine and around the world and that is relevant and interesting for the furniture maker in our digest:

1. The European Chemicals Agency reported that 80 percent of the nearly 6,000 products and goods sold online and then tested did not comply with EU chemicals laws. Furniture products, as we know, also belong to those that have the presence of “chemistry”, and its content may exceed the norm. As a result, national authorities have launched more than 5,000 lawsuits, asking companies to remove products from their websites or set up their online advertising to better inform consumers.

In Ukraine, when buying a product in an online store, you can check its detailed characteristics on the manufacturer’s website.

This year, the provisions of the law came into force, according to which the consumer has the right to receive electronically operating documents for technically complex household goods (passport or any other document attached to the goods) on the official website of the manufacturer.

2. Experts emphasize that a Business Chamber of Ukraine should be established in Ukraine, which would purposefully protect the interests of domestic business and Ukrainian investors at the state level. And all because the government, in their opinion, creates all the conditions only for the development of foreign investors, and domestic not only develop their own business, but also witness lobbying and support of their foreign opponents in Ukrainian courts. It seems that we are doing everything to destroy the domestic investor. He is taxed and then wonders why so little money is brought by a domestic investor.

3. The taxable income of the taxpayer includes income received as an additional benefit, in particular in the form of the value of property and food received free of charge by the taxpayer from the employer. However, personal income is taxed, in particular received in the form of additional benefits, only if they are received directly by a specific taxpayer. And the cost of a holiday evening (banquet, corporate party), which is held by the employer for its employees, is not included in the taxable income of employees.

4. At this year’s London Design Festival, you could find out what topics have been of interest to designers over the past year, and what products, colors or textures have inspired them. The theme of comfort was the main one for many designers who showed their work at the festival.

For example, as part of the Canopy collection by designer Renata Aminyan, the dining area was decorated in an informal style. Her six-seater dining table is one of the main components of the collection, which aims to invite children to the social areas of the house. The tabletop remains a traditional functional surface, but under it there is an organized play area for children.

5. One of the popular trends in the segment of so-called smart coatings is the development of various plastics and LPM with antimicrobial additives: manufacturers of these materials promise consumers additional protection against bacteria, and this is undoubtedly a good marketing move, because health care has become a global trend and, consequently, a product that provides increased security has increased value in the eyes of the buyer.

However, scientists warn that antimicrobial coatings can do more harm than good. Care should be taken when using antimicrobial products and not to expose harmless bacteria to substances that can make them much more dangerous. For example, Bacillus timonensis is usually harmless, but by attacking it, you run the risk of creating antibiotic-resistant strains. As for Escherichia coli, it is much smaller in the environment than is usually thought.