"In any serious country, the authorities would immediately go to Mojkovac to see what is going on"

Stream of the show:

21:21 "According to IMF research, we have the example of the Philippines when we talk about a successful increase in excise taxes," says Novo Radović.

21.20 Ana Nives Radović believes that the strategy will not be successful because there is no indication of that. "This can only push the country further into debt".

21:12 Novo Radović believes that there will be a decrease in the gray market and a decrease in the number of smokers.

21:04 Ana Nives Radović explains that the increase in the gray market is always a consequence of the increase in actions, especially where legal systems are ineffective and inspections are not doing their job.

"It is important for a cigarette manufacturer that the pack leaves the factory at the price set by the manufacturer," she adds.

20:53 Host Aleksandra Mudreša showed cigarette boxes that were bought in a retail store, which do not have excise stamps. One of them was produced in Mojkovac.

Konatar said that in any serious country, the competent authorities would immediately go to Mojkovac and investigate how this happened.

"The state currently has no will because the state leadership is in conjunction with the crime that controls this," said Konatar.

20:50 "The excise tax on cigarettes is increased in the case of citizens weaning themselves from such products," explained Ana Nives Radović. Konatar said that the state would take other measures if the goal was to reduce the number of smokers.

20:46 "In the economy, if you set the model wrong, you will get wrong data. We neglected the gray economy and the gray market," warns Konatar. He says that the problem is not the seller, but the one for whom that seller works.

20:42 "Filip Morris does not think that there will be a reduction in consumption, but a shift from legal to illegal cigarettes," explained Novo Radović.

20:33 "The problem is not just the highway, nor just the increase in VAT, but the problem is that you are spending money unwillingly," Konatar said to Radović.

He recalled the problematic giving of 2 million euros to Montenegro Airlines from the budget reserve and pointed out that it was a matter of meaningless austerity measures.

20:28 "When it comes to rates, these rates are for the long term until 2020, when the public debt is expected to drop to 69%," says Novo Radović.

20:24 Ana Nives Radović believes that the VAT increase was not a necessary measure, especially because there are no precise projections of what effects that decision will have.

"We start with something and then we see that it does not suit one part of the businessmen and then we withdraw those measures," she explains. The analyst believes that investors avoid such a market.

20:22 "Now that rate has remained as it is, you know that this provision is subject to review, the Constitutional Court is waiting," said Novo Radović.

20:18 Konatar asked why the Government must not start taxing luxury. "Citizens of Montenegro will pay the burden. This VAT will hit small and medium-sized entrepreneurs and business hard."

Konatar reminds that it was left for the richest hotels in Montenegro to pay 7% tax.

20:13 Konatar claims that the public debt is not yet burdened by the amount for the highway, and that at the end of 2017 it will amount to 3 billion euros.

"We only pay 100 million euros a year in interest on loans," he explains. He explains that the increase in VAT is a "last measure". "Every third euro in the budget was loaned to us".

20:10 Novo Radović explained that the increase in public debt was caused by the construction of the highway.

20:07 Konatar reminds that in 2013, when the VAT was increased for the first time, the public debt amounted to 57% of the gross national product, and now it amounts to 74% of GDP.

"The government only knows how to increase taxes and the only ones who pay are the citizens," he said.

20:05 Konatar believes that Marković's statement is frivolous because it leaves investors and businessmen in a situation where they cannot plan their business because they do not know what the VAT rate will be.

20:02 Novo Radović explained that he cannot comment on Duško Marković's statement that it is possible that there will not be an increase in VAT, but that he understood it in such a way that in the event of an increase in income on various grounds, there could be a change in the new fiscal strategies.

At the beginning of the month, the Government adopted the Fiscal Strategy Proposal of Montenegro for the period 2017-2020. year, which, in addition to the increase in the VAT rate from 19 to 21 percent, also foresees an increase in excise taxes on cigarettes and alcohol, starting on July 1.

Will these products be more expensive and how much due to the increase in excise taxes, will the legal consumption of cigarettes and alcohol decrease and the black economy increase? How much will the state treasury earn in this way?

Will there be increased controls on the "black market"? Before adopting the Strategy, why did the Government not consult employers who claim that the new tax rate and new excise duties will further threaten the viability and survival of business entities? Will the government give up the VAT increase that it had planned for January next year, which Prime Minister Duško Marković put forward as an option after meeting with businessmen at the end of last week?