The Serbian Association of Employers sent to the Government of the Republic of Serbia a proposal for a package of 5 + 3 set of measures to revitalize the economy and minimize the impact due to COVID-19 pandemic on the national economy.
The package of five measures was proposed to the Prime Minister Ana Brnabić, while a set of proposals for amending the Labor Law was sent to the address of the Minister of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Policy, Zoran Đorđević. Welcoming the previous successful measures of the Government of the Republic of Serbia intended to boost the economy in order to ease consequences of the crisis caused by COVID-19, the Serbian Association of Employers proposes, among other things:
- Decrease of VAT in the hardest hits area of tourism and hospitality to 10%;
- Payment of VAT upon the invoice is realised, starting from January 1, 2021;
- Abolition of the obligation to document the non-taxed costs of transportation fees for the arrival and departure of employees from the workplace;
- Decrease of the local utility taxes by 30%, such as fees for company sign fee;
- Postponement of the payment of the newly introduced eco tax until April 1, 2021.
In addition to the above package, the Union considers it very important that the public sector fulfils all due financial obligations from contracts and commercial transactions with the private sector in a timely manner.
„The measures are taken by the Government of Serbia so far have been a great help to the Serbian economy, primarily I mean the payment of the minimum wage and the postponement of the payment of taxes and contributions for January 2021. However, those measures are not enough for the depth of the crisis in which the whole world, including our the country finds itself. The sooner we understand that and the sooner we apply the new measures, the less the consequences will be. And the consequences only threaten companies in the first step, because if the turnover falls, the payments to the budget will decrease, while the new layoffs would additionally burden the social part of the budget. “, says Srđan Drobnjaković, director of the Serbian Association of Employers.
To the Ministery of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Policy following suggestions were made:
- To enable employees to use last year’s annual leave after June 30 of the current year, as well as that if it is used in parts, there is no restriction that the first part must not be shorter than 2 weeks;
- That the salary compensation due to temporary incapacity for work for a period of 30 days is at the expense of the National Health Insurance Fund of the Republic of Serbia, and not at the expense of the employer;
- To simplify the procedure for giving the consent of the competent minister in case the employer has, due to interruption of work or reduced workload, the need to send the employee on leave for more than 45 working days, with a salary compensation of 60%. The Serbian Association of Employers emphasizes that so far Government of the Republic of Serbia highly understood and appreciated all of the proposed measures and it is also expected that the meeting is to be organized as soon as possible where we would jointly seek a solution that is best for all.