Primorac: Rising prices are concerning, this could jeopardize the tourist season

Finance Minister Marko Primorac stated on Wednesday that the rise in prices is concerning, and that the continuation of such trends could seriously jeopardize both the tourist season and the economy in general.

– When you hear how much these prices are rising, it is something that is in any case unacceptable, and I must admit that it scares me in a way. I fear the long-term effects of such a price increase – said Primorac after a government session, also responding to a question about a scoop of ice cream, which often costs three euros.

If prices continue to rise at this pace, Primorac asserted, this is something that could seriously jeopardize the tourist season and the economy in general.

He explained that, although official statistics indicate a continuous weakening of inflationary pressures, he is concerned about the rising prices of certain products.

When it comes to the tourist season, and in the context of the economic situation in which key markets find themselves, including Germany, which has entered a technical recession, Primorac said that he personally “has a concern regarding achieving good results, given the announcements,” asserting that prices are indeed too high.

– Is there justification for this? Personally, I doubt it; I do not want to delve into specific sectors – said Primorac, also recalling the government’s subsidization of energy prices, as well as lower VAT rates on certain products and services.

He also stated that data on profits and margins of companies indicate that entrepreneurs have benefited the most from the increased prices.

Emphasizing that he is not accusing anyone, Primorac called on all business entities to exercise caution.

– Short-term unjustified price increases and short-term profits could have very undesirable long-term effects – warned the finance minister.

In the context of high prices on the Adriatic, which the media report on daily, Primorac was also asked about the filling of the state budget, to which he responded that the growth rates of revenue from collected taxes “are not incredible but consistent,” noting that the value of fiscalized invoices compared to last year is about 20 percent higher.

The government today submitted a package of tax changes to parliamentary procedure, and in response to a journalist’s question about whether the government took any comments into account during the public discussion, Primorac replied that “nothing has been taken into account so far,” adding that there were a lot of comments, predominantly related to, for example, value-added tax, or the expansion of the application of the lower rate.