Šantić: Recovery Cannot Be Based on Public Investments

Organized by Splitska banka and the business weekly Lider, the Day of New Knowledge Business Navigator was held in Zadar.

The presentation of new knowledge organized by Splitska banka and Lider, after Pula, Rijeka, Karlovac, and Varaždin, has come to an end in Zadar. More than 100 entrepreneurs showed great interest in new knowledge, and at the beginning, the chief economic analyst of Splitska banka, Zdeslav Šantić, presented the situation with the crisis in the Eurozone, as well as short-term forecasts for the Croatian economy. He warned that recovery cannot be based on public investments but must turn to private investments and an increase in exports.

– Croatia, along with Albania, has the smallest share of exports in GDP, and this is an opportunity to increase GDP. We must look to the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland, which have high exports – said Šantić.
He also touched on Croatia’s entry into the European Union, which will bring significant changes, but warned that the decline in interest rates will not happen overnight; rather, it will be a process.
A great interest was sparked by the lecture of Andrijana Parić from Razbor, who spoke about co-financing projects from European Union funds. So far, there have only been two calls for entrepreneurs, and this will change. Already by July 15 of this year, entrepreneurs will have the first call, and she invited them to apply for co-financing for documentation preparation.

– By April next year, there will be 14 calls for all structures, and this is a great opportunity. The goal of the funds is for the European Union to meet all the objectives of the 2020 strategy. It may not be realistic to expect this, but they are trying to achieve it. I only warn entrepreneurs that they must ensure that their projects benefit the entire society, not just the entrepreneur – said Parić.
Marija Zuber from RIF presented to the entrepreneurs gathered in Zadar the tax changes that will follow the entry into the EU, but she urged them to meet their obligations on time as tax inspectors have tightened their oversight.

– Although we must have a new VAT law by July 1, we still do not have it. This will create problems because realistically it cannot be passed before June 6. This will lead to confusion and problems for all entrepreneurs – said Zuber.
She also presented the results of fiscalization, which have led to an increase of 30 to 40 percent in invoices, and it remains to be seen what impact this will have on the budget due to the reduction of the VAT rate for hospitality businesses. In conclusion, she stated that tax laws have primarily acted as a burden on citizens and entrepreneurs, while a smaller part related to tax relief for business operations.
The Day of New Knowledge in Zadar concluded with Nives Rudež from Splitska banka presenting the factoring service, and Domagoj Bojčić and Zvonimir Vitlov presenting the program of the bank as a partner to small and medium-sized enterprises.