Croatian Entrepreneurs Appreciate Government Efforts, Seek Reforms

Lauren Simmonds

Finance Minister Zdravko Marić stressed that the Croatian tax system must be stable, predictable and maximally consistent, and that rax relief should, as such, remain continuous.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes on the 10th of June, 2019, innovation and creativity in business both open up opportunities to boost productivity and the overall growth of Croatian companies, as was stated on Monday at the Croatian Entrepreneur’s day of the Croatian Employers’ Association (HUP).

Gordana Deranja, the president of the Croatian Employers’ Association, pointed out the fact that the Croatian Government’s contribution to GDP growth in the first quarter of this year was 3.9 percent, but this still isn’t enough and that things must not simply stop there, because structural reforms are very much needed, andy are always being delayed.

“Please, be responsible. Leave the cheap populism behind and do your jobs. The war ended a long time ago, with the last one ending thirty years ago. The past belongs in the past and the future brings with it new chances – innovation and creativity. We need to develop them because they’re the key in today’s merciless market competition,” added Deranja.

The shifts that the government has made in the direction of tax breaks for citizens and employers have paid off and resulted in some positive changes, but we can’t just stop there because that isn’t enough, Croatia and its economy are still in debt when we compare it with other countries, in almost all parameters,” Deranja said, and recommended to this government, as well as to all future Croatian governments, to stop simply playing politics and be more responsible.

Deranja added that hundreds of Croatian high school students who, with their entrepreneurial ideas and their various innovative projects had been in included in the ”Entrepreneurs of the Future” contest, and that this alone has confirmed that Croatia has talent for the future.

“Our goal is to maintain fiscal stability and consistency, and our biggest loss would be that the tax we’ve managed to abolish ending up returning again. Predictability is important to entrepreneurs, so the tax and administrative relief should be continuous. Croatia can remember much higher growth rates thant this last one, at 3.9 percent. Although growth rates are lower today than they’ve been in the recent past, they’re on a much healthier basis and provide a sound basis for further growth,” Marić said.

The gathering was accompanied by the arrival of the President of the Republic of Croatia, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, who pointed out that in achieving a developed economy, innovation and creativity are the foundations of global competitiveness, and she believes that this gathering will highlight the fact that besides potential, Croatia also has enough capacity, will, and strength to build a modern, efficient innovation system.

Representatives of large Croatian companies spoke on their respective experiences in applying innovation and creativity. Mate Rimac from Rimac Automobili pointed out the fact that he was not sure that the idea itself, without any commercial realisation, had any real, special value.

“When we got the idea for our Concept One, 10 years passed, a lot of work and money was spent, and 150 people were needed to make that project come true,” said Rimac, whose company employs 600 people and has since attracted more than 100 million euros in direct foreign investment.

At the end of the event, the Croatian Employers’ Association awarded five Croatian schools within the scope of their project “Entrepreneurs of the Future”.

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