Home / Media and Publications / Crisis Tax Reduced Average Salary by 2.8 Percent

Crisis Tax Reduced Average Salary by 2.8 Percent

The average monthly net salary paid per employee in legal entities in Croatia for December of last year amounted to 5,362 kuna, which is nominally 0.4 percent lower and real 0.2 percent higher compared to November, according to data from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS).

On an annual basis, compared to December 2008, the average monthly net salary per employee in legal entities for December of last year was nominally lower by 0.9 percent and real lower by 2.7 percent. For the period from January to December 2009, the average monthly net salary paid amounted to 5,311 kuna, which is nominally higher by 2.6 percent and real higher by 0.2 percent compared to the same period the previous year. Since July 2009, statistics have also shown the impact of the crisis tax on salaries, pensions, and other income on the average monthly net salary paid in legal entities. This special tax affected the reduction of the average net salary for December by 2.8 percent. The special tax had the least impact on the reduction of salaries in administrative and auxiliary service activities, reducing the average net salary for December in that area by 1.8 percent.

Conversely, the special tax had the most impact, reducing the average net salary in the supply of electricity, gas, water, and air conditioning, information and communications, financial activities and insurance, as well as in professional, scientific, and technical activities by 3.4 percent. The highest average net salary for December among individual activities was paid in management activities; consulting related to management, amounting to 11,623 kuna. This was followed by the extraction of crude oil and natural gas with 10,324 kuna and air transport with 9,590 kuna. Employees in the production of refined petroleum products (9,337 kuna) and in advertising (9,293 kuna) also had an average net salary exceeding nine thousand kuna for December. The lowest average net salary for December of last year, amounting to 2,787 kuna, was received by employees in leather processing. Employees in clothing production (2,849 kuna) also had lower average salaries than three thousand kuna.

In wood processing, the average net salary for December amounted to 3,198 kuna, slightly more than that received by employees in furniture production (3,207 kuna), followed by average net salaries of employees in building management services and landscaping activities (3,285 kuna), textile production (3,308 kuna), security and investigation activities (3,355 kuna), food and beverage preparation and serving (3,774 kuna), and in building construction (3,954 kuna). According to DZS data, the average monthly gross salary per employee in legal entities in the Republic of Croatia for December 2009 amounted to 7,783 kuna, indicating a nominal decrease of 0.3 percent and a real increase of 0.3 percent compared to November. The average monthly gross salary for December 2009 compared to the same month of the previous year was nominally lower by 1.1 percent and real lower by 2.9 percent. For the period from January to December 2009, the average monthly gross salary amounted to 7,711 kuna, which is nominally higher by 2.2 percent compared to 2008, but real lower by 0.2 percent. (H)