FISCAL COUNCIL: Lowering of labor tax would result in increased VAT

The reform of the pension system, initiated in 2014, should not change in any aspect, said Nikola Altiparmakov of the Fiscal Council of Serbia on Thursday, April 21, commenting on the demands to abolish the permanent reduction of pensions by 0.34% a month for citizens who retired before their 65th year.

Following the traditional annual meeting of the members of the Fiscal Council with representatives of the Serbian Association of Managers, Altiparmakov pointed out that the savings measures had contributed to fiscal consolidation and that the conditions had met for fine-tuning the tax system and creating a more favorable business environment.

– Labor tax could be lowered, but then the value-added tax would have to increase – he said and added that it had been only one of the topics discussed. Furthermore, there are ideas of tax stimulation for newly founded small and medium enterprises, but, according to Altiparmakov, the budget is still not capable of handling larger tax reductions.

Stanka Pejanovic, CEO of Gorenje Serbia and President of SAM, pointed out that the lowering of taxes and contribution would help small and medium enterprises and that owners of small companies mostly intended to use the money to keep quality workers from going abroad or switching to other companies in Serbia.

– A part of the response by the Fiscal Council was that, if tax reductions are considered, it needs to be seen how they can be compensated for. The achieved macroeconomic stability is in the interest of the entire economy.

According to her, the conclusion of SAM is that the focus should be on the legal framework, stability and reducing corruption, which will lead to more certainty in doing business.

Fiskalni savet Republike Srbije

Srpska asocijacija menadžera Beograd

Gorenje d.o.o. Beograd

pension

pensions

reduction of pensions

abolishing reduction of pensions

reform of pension system

SAM

fiscal consolidation

labor tax

value added tax

VAT

tax stimulation for newly founded small and medium enterprises

reduction of taxes and contributions

tax exemptions for small and medium enterprises

Stanka Pejanovic

Fiscal Council Nikola Altiparmakov