Does Prime Minister Duško Markovic's government work in the public interest or in the interest of business lobbies?
That question is being asked by economic analysts after two Government decisions, which devalued those previously adopted.
The first is a regulation that will allow tax debtors to pay their debt with property, and the second is that after the ban on the export of wood before the very beginning of the heating season, it will still be possible to export cut firewood.
Economic experts conclude that these measures, as well as the measures foreseen by the Government in the amendments to the VAT Act, reduce the optimism of investors.
The government recently decided to allow tax debtors to repay their debts with assets. The Government adopted the decree on the repayment of tax debt with assets half a year after the Constitutional Court annulled that decision, and the Parliament adopted the Law on Reprogramming.
And the State Audit Institution assessed in its report that the compensation of debts with property was an ineffective measure
"That the collection of the tax debt has not been significantly achieved and that such solutions should not be applied at all because, for example, certain companies, a certain number of companies, instead of the Government, offered premises that are unusable and cannot be sold, such as basements, basements, ruined buildings. Now the government is doing it again and the conclusion is that the government is working in the interest of certain business lobbies instead of working in the interest of the citizens," said Biljana Matijašević, economics editor at Nezavisni dnevnik (ND) "Vijesti".
"The question of passing a decree on paying tax debt with property is a completely unnecessary regulatory measure of the Government of Montenegro, especially considering that the Law on Tax Debt Reprogramming was passed. With this passed decree, the hands and feet of the Tax Administration are tied and their equipment is still in disrepair, so they are asked to run a marathon," said Mila Kasalica, an economic analyst.
"The state does not need business premises, so I don't know what they are, it needs money to patch holes in the budget and service regular obligations," added Matijašević.
This is not the only measure that the Government is sending for remedial examination, that is, by which it revises and practically cancels its previous decision, made for the benefit of the budget and citizens.
After banning the export of wood raw materials in March due to a lack of firewood and a deficit of wood for processing, the Government decided before the beginning of the heating season to enable the export of felled wood from state forests, with the necessary permits. The Ministry of Agriculture cited the existence of poor quality wood stocks as the key reason for such a decision.
"It's an illogical explanation to me. I don't know where they were last year when the prices of wood were rising and citizens couldn't find them," said Matijašević.
"Following the explanation of the representative of the Ministry of Agriculture, we can say that we have started to import logs of a slightly larger volume, but of questionable quality, to our neighbors from the Balkans," Kasalica explained.
Kasalica says that before adopting the decision regarding the export of firewood, it was necessary for the Government to respond.
"Because the Prime Minister formally appeared in front of the businessmen at the Chamber of Commerce and said that there is a lot of crime going on. We still don't know what happened to that crime. If that crime has not been removed, then how did exports resume?" said Kasalica.
Kasalica emphasizes that the consequences of these and other government measures, such as the adopted amendments to the VAT Act, will only be felt.
She warns that with irresponsible economic policy measures, the Government sends a bad message to investors.
"Economic development measures will not be achieved, but the optimism of foreign and domestic investors to invest will be reduced," concluded Kasalica.
Bonus video:
