The economy in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is only one of the segments that suffer from the skyrocketing price growth and inflation that is raging all over the world. Although prices have only slightly decreased, mostly by a few pfennigs, BiH businessmen are facing a series of problems, and some of the companies could stop production. There is constant pressure due to various levies, which have not subsided for a long time, and the state has not taken concrete long-term aid measures for a long time.
”I will say specifically for this industry that I work in, the incentives in 2012 and 2014 for tobacco were 1.40-1.50 BAM per kilogram of cut tobacco, and last year that amount was 0.27-0.30 BAM,” says the representative of Duvan ad Bijeljina Svetozar Mihajlovic.
Such a situation, they claim, could cause the entire legal tobacco production in BiH to shut down. High levies create a problem for businesses and other companies, which have not even recovered from the consequences of the pandemic and have been struggling with a new global crisis for some time, with no end in sight.
”It is difficult to single out a segment that is more or less important because, in order to have an economic environment suitable for business, both for a domestic investor and for a foreign investor, all segments must be arranged – from security, to credit lines, incentives for business entities from the competent ministries,” says the president of the Chamber of Economy of the Federation of BiH (FBiH), Mirsad Jasarspahic.
”The collected public revenues under the jurisdiction of the Tax Administration of the Republika Srpska (RS) in the period January-June 2022 amount to 1.54 billion BAM. The collection of these public revenues in the first six months of this year is higher by 186.6 million marks, i.e. 14% compared to the same period in 2021, which shows that there is still room for additional incentives and assistance to the economy,” Vladimir Blagojevic, spokesman for the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of RS, points out.
Concrete figures on how much businessmen in BiH can return from what they give to the state are not known because they depend on many factors. Among other things, one must take into account, for example, the support of the local community or ministries at the canton level with various grants for a certain businessman, the Chamber of Economy of the FBiH points out. However, the problem of survival and quality business itself is very noticeable, economic experts say.
”When it comes to the ratio between the collection of income from the economy and citizens and aid, that is, the use of those revenues in the interest of the economy and citizens by the state at all levels, the difference is huge. We are all already aware that the income of the state, that is, the subtraction of income from the economy, is measured in billions,” emphasizes economic analyst Igor Gavran.
Aid to the economy from the state, Igor Gavran adds, is just a drop in the ocean of all the necessary funds. Rising energy prices, labor shortages, and pressure to increase wages in the economy are putting a lot of pressure on all companies. In addition, it is difficult to keep up with the world market because we are an import-dependent economy, and that is the reason why it is necessary for the state to become more involved, Federalna writes.
E.Dz.
