Limitless arrogance A taxpayer who has been operating for only three weeks and dared to complain to the tax officials was handed a decision to pay an amount that is clearly impossible for him to pay within eight days.
writes Ivica Grčar
[email protected]
A reader contacted us who started his own business in May of this year, very surprised by the incompetence and arrogance of the officials of the Tax Administration in Zagreb – Susedgrad Branch. This reader’s astonishment at the tax officials can easily be explained by the fact that he has only recently started his business; veteran entrepreneurs have long ceased to be surprised. The reader states that he stands behind everything he has written but asks that we do not publish his identity for now. Since he has provided us with copies of documents, we respect his wish for anonymity, noting that the information is in the editorial office. However, we publish the identity of the enraged tax inspector Martina Sikavica from ‘Susedgrad’.
Enraged Inspector Before he started his business, the reader visited the Tax Administration in Zagreb, Susedgrad Branch, to check if everything was in order since he established the company back in 2002, but it had not been active since then. He was told at the Tax Administration, after checking the information system, that the company was registered in the tax records and that there were no obstacles to starting the business. After submitting the VAT calculation form, the reader received a call to report to inspector Sikavica within three days ‘for the assessment of tax strength’ and to bring with him the URA and IRA books, analytical gross balance, tax and pre-tax account cards, and nine other various documents. The reader warned inspector Sikavica that he had only been in business for three weeks and could not yet prepare balances and other accounting documents for that period. Inspector Sikavica took offense and became angry, began to threaten, and behaved rudely. And indeed, the threats were not empty: the reader was handed a tax decision (signed by manager Jasna Kovačević instead of Sikavica) ordering him to pay all the VAT he had invoiced so far within eight days because, according to the decision, he had not submitted a VAT registration. The reader proves with documents that the company is duly registered in the VAT system and sees no other basis for the issuance of the mentioned decision other than the intention of Sikavica and Kovačević to abuse their power by imposing a payment obligation of half a million kuna in VAT, even though it is clear in advance that the taxpayer cannot pay this.
