Serbia officially boasts 3,769 wealthy men - Cross-checking of registered revenues and property to take years to complete

A total of 3,769 citizens of Serbia registered a property worth over RSD 35 million within the prescribed deadline, Tax Administration Director Ivan Simic said at Tuesday's press conference, adding that that didn't have to be the final number, given that some taxpayers had sent their tax returns by mail, while others had mistakenly submitted them to other organizational units of the Tax Administration of the Republic of Serbia (PURS) instead of filing them with the Tax Administration Head Office.

The next step is the cross-check of registered revenues and property of citizens. However, Simic was unable to say when it was going to start. He stressed it was a process that could take years to complete.

- The cross-checking of property is a very complicated and delicate way of field control - Simic said, citing the example of Slovenia that had begun the cross-checking of property in late 2008 and performed only 400 checks to date.

- For some physical persons, this process can take over a year to finish, but everybody will be given enough time to remember how he or she got the property - Simic pointed out.

Cross-checking will run parallel to the checking of those who did not register their property and are assumed to possess property worth over RSD 35 million.

- It is estimated that there should be about 10,000 taxpayers holding such property in Serbia – Simic stressed.

The wealthy men who failed to submit a tax return will be fined 3 percent of the value of the property they did not register. On the other hand, those taxpayers who are determined to have submitted inaccurate data about their possessions, the difference between the registered property and revenues will be taxed at a rate of 20 percent.

Simic underlined that they had been receiving up to 1,000 tax returns a day as the final deadline (July 1st) had been approaching.

- Maybe some taxpayers were waiting until the last day because they expected that we would give up the entire process, while others were maybe worried about the promised fine - said the director of the Tax Administration.

The citizens of Serbia who possess over RSD 35 million worth of property in the country and abroad had time until end-June to submit an informational tax return specifying the value of their property prior to 1 January 2013.

The property that should be covered by the tax return includes real estate, shares and stakes in companies, business equipment, motor vehicles, vessels and aircraft, saving deposits and cash, as well as intellectual property, patents, licenses and ownership rights over other movables whose individual value exceeds RSD 100,000.

I.M.