[RTS] It is difficult for flat-rater tax payers to survive the abolition of the protective tax increase
Until now, flat rate tax payers’s tax could increase 10% annual at maximum, but from 2023, the provision in the Regulation on flat-rate taxation will cease to be valid, so the tax will be potentially higher. The change could happen at an inconvenient time, during the current crisis and high inflation.
- This obligation may be increased for lump sums. Those who had an obligation of 20,000, under the 10% limit, would have an obligation of 28,000-29,000, which is not low, but without that limit, that obligation could go to maybe 50 or 60,000, which would certainly be much worse, and something to avoid. explained Dušan Vasiljević, Director for Competitiveness and Investments in NALED, as a guest on the RTS morning program and added that such a practice could lead to individual flat-raters closing their shops, which would not be good for them, as well as the society as a whole.
According to him, the initiative recently sent by NALED and the Digital Community to the Ministry of Finance refers to continuing the 10% growth limit in the coming years, or having in mind the inflation, it would be acceptable to increase the levies by the rate of inflation plus 10 percent but not more than that. He estimated that if the proposal is adopted, it could be applied from the beginning of the next year.
The initiative includes an additional proposal - to change the method of tax calculation for part of the lump-sum traders who do business over the Internet.
- According to the analysis, only two activities that are typical for working on the Internet, namely teaching foreign languages and virtual assistants, there are 39,000 of our fellow citizens who are engaged in these jobs, and who are not part of the system in any way, are not in any tax regime, they do not pay taxes and do not have any appropriate protection benefits based on the payment of taxes and contributions, and therefore it is important to find an acceptable measure of taxation - said Vasiljević.
As he further explained, the average salary of a language teacher is around 80,000 dinars, while more than 70% of assistants earn around 70,000 dinars per month. If they were to pay taxes and contributions in the amount of 50,000-60,000 dinars, it would be unprofitable for them, especially if they work in larger cities such as Belgrade or Novi Sad, since the tax is higher than in smaller towns.
- If we had an amount that is acceptable, i.e. for someone who earns about 70,000 dinars working on the Internet, the amount of about 25,000 dinars in taxes and contributions would be acceptable, much less compared to what they would have to pay now, which is over 80%. We assume that at least two-thirds of those who are now in the gray work zone would switch and register in the flat-rate method of taxation. Estimates are that based on this, the state would earn over 600 million dinars annually, Vasiljević pointed out.
You can watch the entire interview here.
