Improved regulations encouraged the rise of new entrepreneurs by more than 10%

In Serbia, the number of entrepreneurs is constantly growing, and currently there are more than 328,000 of them. This year, in the first six months, around 22,500 new businesses were registered, which is 11% more than in the same period in 2022. Although the crisis did not slow down the positive trend due to the creation of a good regulatory framework for business, support measures are still necessary, the panel said. was held as part of the StarTech program and on the occasion of Global Entrepreneurship Week.

Assistant Minister of Finance Dragan Demirović pointed out that the most important regulatory changes this year were made to improve the position of lump sum workers and freelancers.

- We reacted in accordance with the new economic developments in the world and made a full hit. The limit on the increase of the tax base for lump sums has been extended to 10% until the end of 2025, as well as the maximum reduction of the base for beginners by 50%. Our conclusion is that the profit of entrepreneurs does not grow at the same rate as earnings, and that limiting the growth of liabilities is still a prerequisite for the business of lump sums - Demirović explained.

The fact that today we have around 147,200 registered flat-rate taxpayers, and three years ago there were 121,700, said Dragan Agatunović, coordinator for tax control at the Tax Administration.

- We have significantly improved the procedure for taxation of natural persons and freelancers. So far, about 3,400 taxpayers have submitted about 7,800 applications in the total amount of 582 million dinars. They have achieved their rights to health insurance - concluded Agatunović and added that new functionalities will be available on the Freelancers portal from next year.

The Ministry of Economy recently adopted the Strategy for the Development of Small and Medium Enterprises until 2027, which determines the strategic direction of the development of entrepreneurship and competitiveness.

- The role of entrepreneurs is increasingly important. Entrepreneurs make up 27.3% of the total number of employees in Serbia and contribute 24% to the GDP. The strategy recognizes this and has foreseen measures of financial and non-financial support for them - said Aleksandra Vučetić from the Small and Medium Enterprises Sector of the Ministry of Economy.

She stated that in the period from 2015 to today, more than 7,200 projects were supported with around RSD 15.3 billion in grants. All interested entrepreneurs, as she added, can be informed about current support programs and changes in legal regulations through the portal preduzetnistvo.gov.rs.

Sofija Popara from the Digital Community pointed out that serious steps have been taken towards improving business conditions for entrepreneurs, but also that there is still room for improvement. She pointed to the "Entrepreneurs are moms too" initiative, unifying the payment of taxes and contributions to one account, and enabling the transition to the self-taxation regime when lump-sum payments exceed the limit of six million. Dušan Vasiljević, Director of the Department for Competitiveness and Investments in NALED, supported the mentioned proposals and added that it is necessary to enable the automatic registration of internships for entrepreneurs and to consider increasing the limit for a flat rate of six million.

- We are also planning to establish a Council for small businesses that will systematically deal with issues that concern entrepreneurs - Vasiljević concluded and reminded that five years ago, NALED initiated the reform of lump-sum taxation that enabled the automation of tax liability calculations and predictability in the business of lump-sum taxpayers.