Some good news for personal finances!
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 4th of December, 2017, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković has announced that the government will decide to increase the minimum wage this week, and in parallel, incentive measures will be taken for labour intensive activities.
This news will be very much welcome as the subject has been a topic of debate for a long time, not only on the political scene but in overall society as a whole. Approximately 50,000 workers in the Republic of Croatia currently receive minimum wage, and owing to this decision, the country’s minimum pay level could rise from the current 3,276 to 3,620 kuna gross.
Večernji ListVečernji List writes that when the usual 20% is deducted from the wage to go to pension contributions (724 kuna), it would mean 2,896 kuna is taken home – 275 kuna more than is currently being taken home today. In addition, the law on minimum wage is also set to be amended in such a way that additions to general wage, such as overtime and similar wages, must be paid above the minimum wage level.
One of the stimulus measures in tourism, the prime minister said, will also provide tax incentives for the transportation and the subsequent accommodation of seasonal workers, a large portion of which travel from Slavonia and other inland regions of the country to the coast each summer to seek employment in hotels, bars, restaurants and other establishments that cater for tourism along the coasline.
Plenkovic added that the government will also approve quotas for foreign workers by allowing 31,000 work permits to be issued as opposed to 29,000, a figure that was initially thought up. Most of these additional quotas will go to Croatia’s strongest economic field, the tourism sector, but it also seems that the government will allow 300 Information Technology (IT) professionals from abroad to be recruited in Croatia.
