With the introduction of the zero VAT rate, the Republika Srpska (RS) will be left without 111 million BAM by the end of the year and based on the abolition of the excise tax on fuel, without 17.6 million per month. The Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) says that with this proposal they want to help the household budgets of the citizens and that the position of the National Assembly is necessary for the voting of the delegates from the RS at the level of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).
Milorad Dodik, president of the SNSD said: ”We are doing it in the right way. What Borenovic and others who proposed for six months are shouting, we thought it was possible before, but we were convinced that it was impossible. We are realistic that we should wait a few days and see all the effects and we have analyzed it.”
The opposition in the National Assembly estimates that a special session was held in order to amortize the dissatisfaction of the public due to the vote of the SNSD delegates in the House of Peoples of the Parliament of BiH against the abolition of excise duties by the urgent procedure. They believe that the conclusions of the National Assembly will be quickly forgotten.
Nebojsa Vukanovic, representative of the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) Caucus in the National Assembly of RS (NARS) noted: ”They saw the pulse of the people and in order to draw attention,they are proposing a reduction in excise duties and the abolition of VAT for a month, knowing that they will not have the support of their coalition partners from the excise coalition of SNSD and Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ).”
Apart from the fact that amendments to the Law on VAT and Excise Duties must be given the green light by the Management Board of the Indirect Taxation Authority, the Council of Ministers of BiH, and the Parliament of BiH, for their application, software solutions must be changed.
Ratko Kovacevic, spokesman for the Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH said: ”It takes a minimum of six months to implement the law. We are on temporary funding for the third year, we don’t have the budget or the money needed to upgrade the software solution.”
Political analysts see the proposals of the SNSD and the opposition for the abolition of the excise tax on oil derivatives and VAT as political tricks, from which the citizens could get the short end of the stick again.
Mladen Bubonjic, a political analyst, told: ”It may really seem like the principle of the ruling parties in RS that no decision at the level of BiH can be made and discussed at all without the NARS. Of course, such a story is presented by SNSD. On the other hand, we can see this as an attempt to block any initiative of the opposition or groups that are not close to the authorities in RS. We can also see it as an attempt to procrastinate and take political positions for the next period.”
E.Dz.
Source: BHRT
