ZAGREB, May 27, 2019 – U.S. Ambassador to Croatia, Robert Kohorst, said on Monday that Croatia was on the right track, however, it should upgrade its judiciary and tax system and reduce excessive red tape.
During his lecture at the Zagreb School of Economics and Management (ZSEM) within the International Consulting Project, the U.S. Ambassador, who addressed a group of foreign students, said that there was a lot of similarities between Croatia and his country, however, he underscored that the capitalist system in the U.S.A was more developed.
He said that risks for doing business in Croatia were connected with excessive red tape, insufficiently transparent and slow judicial system and occasional arbitrariness in the tax system.
The ambassador praised the current Croatian government for detecting those problems and starting to eliminate them.
The diplomat notes that about 100 U.S. companies are doing business in Croatia, highlighting IBM and Microsoft.
As for deficiencies in the tax system, Kohorst pointed to absence of property tax, which he finds to be wrong, given that there are many properties whose ownership structure is not clear and they are in a dilapidated condition.
In that context he cited the tourist sector where unsettled ownership rights prevent the construction of golf course facilities or the expansion of hotel capacities.
Kohorst also mentioned successful local companies: Rimac Automobili, Adris, Atlantic Grupa and Podravka.
Kohorst believes that the biggest difference between Croatia and the USA is in optimism, or rather the lack of it, and considers that Croatians are significantly more pessimistic.
The dominant attitude in the USA is that if I work hard and with dedication, I can succeed, and even if that doesn’t happen, I will try again and optimism, regarding the view of the future and opportunities, prevails, Kohorst explained.
Kohorst noted that security is Croatia’s advantage and that it in that sense, it is a forerunner in the region, followed by the stability of the government, educated labour force and its membership to the EU.
There are a lot of reasons why companies should come and do business in Croatia and expand their market, Kohorst said however he believes that it is necessary to take that last step and that people and youth have to truly believe that they want to stay and build their country.
More news about relations between Croatia and the United States can be found in the Politics section.
