April 29, 2020 – Glas Poduzetnika suggested the measures for May to the Croatian Prime Minister -take care of parafiscal charges, seasonal employers and workers, and loans for groups at risk.
The May package of measures should respond to open questions that were not addressed in the April set of measures, and finally to solve the problem of parafiscal charges that burden the economy with nine billion kunas per year.
In the first two weeks since its foundation, the Glas Poduzetnika Association approved membership requests to 9,000 members, entrepreneurs, self-employed and physical persons, thus having become the largest unforced association of employers and entrepreneurs in Croatia. The goal of the Association is to provide the welfare not only to its members and their employees but also to the Croatian economy and society in full. The Association has short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals, addressing them through concrete demands and measures that they propose to the competent institutions.
“Yesterday, we sent Prime Minister Plenkovic the requirements for the measures to be included in the May package, along with the main measures that will allow the future sustainable development of the Croatian economy and society,” said Hrvoje Bujas, President of the Glas Poduzetnika Association. “Since the Prime Minister did not respond to the previous requests of the Glas Poduzetnika Association, including the open letter that we sent on 17th April 2020, we believe that we still need to make requests through the media. Our demands are necessary for the survival and development of the economy, entrepreneurship, and society as a whole.”
The Association’s demands addressed to Prime Minister Plenkovic for six measures to be defined by the May package are the following:
- Permanent cancellation of all parafiscal charges, including the introduction of voluntary membership in HGK, HOK, and HTZ
- VAT payments upon the invoice collection should be a permanent measure for all companies. What we have now is only a temporary measure until 20th June, and there is a risk that Tax Authorities will start with the charge the VAT on 20th June, regardless of whether the entrepreneur will collect the invoice or not, and it can create a lot of problems for them.
- Moratorium on loans and leasings form 6 to 18 months as needed, with minimal (up to 1%) interests for the mentioned period for all entrepreneurs, self-employed, and citizens at risk.
- Including the seasonal self-employed and seasonal workers in the set of measures
- Availability of COVID-19 loans to small accommodation providers, which they need to survive until the next tourist season
- Termination of inspectors’ repression—State Inspectorate has to be advisory body first, and then repressive (and not only repressive as it is now), with clear and unambiguous rules of treatment. They should issue warnings for minor mistakes instead of giving fines, with a reasonable deadline to correct the irregularities.
Also, non-related to the May set of measures, the Association demands to initiate activities in the following areas as soon as possible:
- Reduction and reorganization of public administration and local governments as well as reduction of tax and non-tax charges for economy
- Full transparency of revenues and expenditures of all state administration and local government bodies, as well as public firms
- Digitalization and automation of the processes and services of entrepreneurs and citizens that are essential for progress and ensure global competitiveness
- Improving the effectiveness of the judiciary system through digitalization and ensuring its depoliticization and independency
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The GLAS PODUZETNIKA Initiative started as a citizens’ self-organized group, most of which are small entrepreneurs, after the announcement of the first set of Government’s measures, which the organizers deemed insufficient. The Initiative assembled more than 100,000 entrepreneurs, small business owners, self-employed, and the employees in the private sector in less than 15 days, drawing the media spotlight with its uncompromising requests and appearances. Considering this, GLAS PODUZETNIKA positioned itself as a relevant factor in public discussions aimed to determine Croatia’s new economic direction. Its position was also confirmed by the Government of the Republic of Croatia, has included some of the Initiative’s suggestions in the second set of economic measures, thus confirming Initiative’s undeniable influence. At the request of the initiative’s members, the GLAS PODUZETNIKA Association was established, gathering more than 9,000 members in two weeks since its foundation. More than 120,000 Croatian citizens support the Association.
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