ZAGREB, August 1, 2018 – Ahead of a meeting of the ruling coalition on Wednesday regarding the tax reform, Speaker of Parliament Gordan Jandroković did not want to comment on speculation that citizens with average earnings would hardly benefit at all and said that it was necessary to ensure that the tax reform benefited as much as possible citizens with the lowest wages.
“At the moment, I don’t wish to comment on that. When all of us coalition partners hear and see what Minister Zdravko Marić is proposing, we will comment after that,” Jandroković told reporters. “Always and at every moment, it is necessary to take account of all citizens, particularly those with the lowest earnings,” he underscored and added that off the cuff estimates before the minister has presented his proposals can only cause confusion in the public.
Finance Minister Zdravko Marić on Monday presented his tax reform to the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) presidency and according to unofficial sources, citizens will only benefit from a lower VAT on fruit, vegetables, fish and meat.
Ahead of today’s meeting of the coalition partners, the leader of the junior coalition partner, the Croatian People’s Party (HNS), Ivan Vrdoljak, said that it was time for cooperation and compromises.
“It’s time for a policy of cooperation, talks and compromise in Croatia, and that is why we are going to see now what the proposals and explanations are. As far as the HNS is concerned, for years we have advocated tax reliefs on wages, raising the threshold of the 36 percent tax bracket. We suggested that it was wiser to reduce VAT vertically in individual sectors and not across the board by one percent, however we are going to see what is being proposed,” Vrdoljak told the press.
Branko Hrg of the Croatian Christian Democratic Party said that the announcement by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković that the tax reform would address those people whose expenses mostly went towards food and utility costs gave hope that the tax reform package and taxation law was heading in the direction the Democratic Christian party advocated.
He recalled that his party had suggested that wages should be increased for those with the lowest wages and that they should not be less than 4,000 kuna.
The package will mostly impact those people with monthly earnings of up to 10,000 kuna and they will feel the increase the most, adding that anyone with earnings of more than 10,000 kuna can cope more easily without a wage increase, Hrg said.
