There is no doubt that the amendments to the Law on Excise Duties will be beneficial on a long-term. They are in the interest of the citizens of BiH because it is a law which clearly foresees funds that will amount to about 215 million BAM on an annual basis, that is, a billion BAM for investment in infrastructure in 5 years, said Kemal Kozaric, Dean of the Faculty of Economics at the University of Sarajevo.
“It is clear that many works and sub works would open up, which would impact on GDP and employment and there is no doubt that there will be extreme damage if the changes to the law on excise duties are not accepted. The future generations deserve to travel on better roads, as well as our tourists, that our economy uses better roads as well as all of those who want to visit BiH. On the other hand, this project will be accompanied by a series of procedures that could “amortize” those who may suffer some damage, but we should feel the benefit of the law on excise duties in a long-term and I hope that there will be enough political will to accept the changes in BH parliament,” said Kozaric.
He also added that he can see the quality in the new Law on excise duties because excise duties on fuel (10 fenings for construction of highways and 5 fenings for roads) will go directly to the sub-accounts of agencies that are dealing with infrastructure, which means that they could not be “mixed” with other budget funds and would be intentionally used.
“Back in 2014 or 2015, the price of oil was around 2.40 BAM to 2.50 BAM, and now it is around 2.00 BAM, and with the increase of 9 % its price would be approximately 2.18 BAM, which is much less than what it was in previous years,” said Kozaric.
Commenting on whether the increase in fuel prices, if excises get an increase, will result in an increase in prices of food and cause some pressure on the standard of living, the Dean of the Faculty of Economics stated that food prices in BiH depend on prices in Europe.
“We import 1.4 billion BAM of food annually, but only 23.8 % of it is covered by domestic production and thus there will be no increase in prices of food in BH market due to increased excise taxes. The Council of Ministers of BiH and other ministries that are monitoring agricultural production should be working on dependence on imports,” stated Kozaric.
While talking about the public debt of BiH, Kozaric said that BiH is moderately indebted country and that he personally supports any indebtedness due to investment. The public debt of BiH is around 6 billion EUR or 42 % of GDP, and the acceptable limit according to the EU standards is 45 % of GDP.
(Source: faktor.ba)
