Pre-election promises and a good tourist season, higher salaries, “enhanced” Christmas bonuses and other rewards for employees and retirees were, it seems, enough of a trigger for Croatian citizens to record holiday spending this year, writes “Večernji list” today.
Although inflation and price growth, both in double digits for a large number of products and services, are responsible for this, in recent days there has been frantic spending – as much as 351 million euros more from the beginning of December to Christmas, and if this continues until the New Year, consumption would in this month could be higher than the estimated, optimistic 3.1 billion euros.
According to data from the Croatian Tax Administration, citizens have already spent 2.6 billion euros by Christmas. Only on Saturday, the day before Christmas, 147 million euros were spent, or 3.6 percent more than on the same date last year.
This was helped by the fact that Christmas Eve this year fell on a (non)working Sunday, so the amount of the bill on that day was 52 million euros or 39 percent less than last year. On Christmas itself, Croatian citizens spent around 11 million euros, or 20 percent more than last year.
If consumption is looked at in a specialized way, in the G-47 retail trade (except trade in motor vehicles and motorcycles) from December 1 to 26 of this year, the total number of fiscalized accounts was 82.27 million, and the traded value was 1.42 billion euros, while in the same period in 2022, the number of accounts recorded by the Tax Administration was 83 million, and the total amount of accounts was 1.24 billion euros.
Overall, in retail trade this December, one percent fewer invoices were recorded in quantity, while the amount grew by 15 percent, i.e. by 180 million euros. The three average holiday baskets of the Independent Croatian Trade Unions also grew by 15 percent, writes “Večernji list”.
