The sixth session of the Croatian Parliament began this morning with a current question time during which Prime Minister Zoran Milanović and other members of the Government answer 38 parliamentary questions.
The first question was posed by minority representative Nedžad Hodžić, who was interested to know if there are still some tax inspectors in Croatia, like in Istria, who invent tax obligations for certain entrepreneurs and fill the budget, while forgiving others and filling their own pockets, and what is being done to resolve this issue.
Minister of Finance Slavko Linić stated that during 2012, the Tax Administration received a number of complaints from domestic and foreign entrepreneurs who complained about procedures in which they had different interpretations of debts in the first-instance decision compared to those after tax inspections.
– Therefore, we changed the Tax Law; these different solutions can only be treated by a court decision, and the more favorable solution will be taken. The Tax Administration will provide mandatory solutions that will be binding for all, so three different opinions cannot be given. To obtain responsible solutions, we will form an auditing body within the Tax Administration that will provide expert opinions and help resolve disputes – Linić replied.
SDP’s Vesna Fabijančić Križanić asked whether the introduction of property tax means an additional tax burden on citizens and whether it will increase budget revenues?
– Two taxes are being abolished, and a property tax is being introduced. Our primary goal is not to introduce a tax that all EU countries have; it is about establishing order. We insist that there is no additional tax burden. It does not occur to us to burden people who live in properties, who have built weekend houses brick by brick for 30 years; that does not occur to us. But we want properties to be brought into economic function, to be put into circulation. We want to establish order. Order and transparency. We cannot tolerate properties in hidden economic and economic functions. This will not be a new blow to citizens, nor an additional burden on the middle class. We will not introduce a tax on residential properties, as some countries do; we will not tax properties where people live; we do not want that. But we want a transparent source of funding for local government – says Milanović.
The president of HDZ, Tomislav Karamarko, asked the Prime Minister ‘whether he has’ started thinking about whether there is a consistent plan to try to stop everything that has been happening in almost a year of his government – a six percent drop in consumption, a seven percent drop in industrial production, a twelve percent drop in exports, a GDP decline of more than 1.5 percent, foreign investments are four times lower than last year, falling from 600 million euros to 150 million, more than 330 thousand unemployed, hundreds of people losing their jobs every day, inflation is five percent, and citizens’ purchasing power has decreased.
– A year has been lost in wandering without a clearly defined goal – said Karamarko. The Prime Minister said they started thinking a long time ago, they are thinking now, working, and it is not easy for them, but they do not complain. Zoran Milanović also gave Karamarko a small lesson in the Croatian language.
– I will answer your question ‘have we’ started thinking or, as it would be asked in Croatian, have we started thinking – said the Prime Minister.
– We are not wandering, but it is not simple. You see that I very little, if at all, blame the former government. We have done less than we wanted, and the situation in Europe is difficult. No matter how much we are borrowing less unfavorably today, it is still too expensive. What we have done, last year there was a budget deficit of 15 billion kuna, this year ten. I know that citizens do not care about that, but it is important for the reputation of our country. The credit rating is better than a year ago, and in Croatia, there is an extraordinary situation in economic terms and in terms of public spending, but it is not a state of war – says Milanović, adding that difficult, complicated, and unpopular decisions must now be made, especially since next year we are entering the EU, so the country is preparing for that. Therefore, he expects support and understanding from everyone.
– We did not receive a concrete answer, but Milanović’s acrobatics. I am glad that you are thinking, but you are talking about Europe, and where are you in that? You are in a vacuum because the program does not exist – replied Karamarko.
