ZAGREB, January 18, 2018 – Croatian Finance Minister Zdravko Marić said on Thursday that there would be no changes to the system of Value Added Tax this year and that the year would be used for a thorough analysis of the matter.
Asked by reporters before today’s government session if the standard VAT rate of 25% would be reduced after Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said so while answering questions addressed to him during Question Time in parliament on Wednesday, Marić said that there was nothing left for him to say but “‘yes’, given the PM’s statement.”
“We have been working on everything, we started the first year of the term with tax breaks, which has proven a justified and good move, with emphasis on direct income and profit taxation, and further possibilities of alleviating the tax burden in that segment should certainly be sought. Considering the importance of the VAT rate, we have been discussing the matter intensely,” said the Minister.
He said that the tax policy for this year had been defined and that there would be no changes to the VAT system this year but that time would be taken to carry out “a specific and thorough analysis”.
Asked which tax would be reduced sooner – VAT or real estate tax – Marić said that VAT would be reduced sooner, and when asked how much it would be reduced, he said “Slow down, slow down, it will happen.”
Croatia currently has the VAT rate of 25 percent, which is one of the highest rates in the European Union.
