Employers may not reduce wages due to health insurance

Employers in Montenegro will have to apply the amendments to the Law on Contributions for Mandatory Social Insurance in the calculation of employees' wages for March, which increased the contributions for health insurance at the expense of the employer from 3,8 percent to 4,3 percent of the gross salary.

This change in the law was published in the Official Gazette on February 27, and it came into force the following day, which means that the March earnings will be the first to be applied, which was confirmed by the "News" and the Ministry of Finance.

This contribution belongs to the group of taxes and contributions borne by the employer, and because of it they must not reduce the employee's earnings, but must pay it as their own expense. The contribution rate for health insurance remained at 8,5 percent.

On an average net salary of around 480 euros, which is 716 euros gross, this increase of 0,5 percent amounts to 3,6 euros.

When the amendment to the law was prepared, at the end of last year, the government expected that it would be applied from the beginning of this year and that it would receive another five million euros from the increase in contributions to the health budget. However, the procedure for adopting amendments to the law in the Assembly was delayed, so it will be applied for 10 months, which is why the expected income will be slightly higher than four million.

With this change in the law, the contribution rate for health insurance was increased by 0,5 and for some other categories such as independent entrepreneurs, religious officials, foreign pensioners and for some social categories to which health insurance is paid from the budget of state institutions.

As "Vijesta" was informed by the Health Insurance Fund, the contribution rate for entrepreneurs and persons who perform professional or other activities as their main occupation and persons who receive contracted compensation, if they are not liable on other grounds, will now be 12,8 percent of gross income. and previously it was 12,3 percent.

For persons who receive financial compensation in accordance with the law governing employment, unemployed persons who are on the unemployment register and do not receive compensation on that basis, combatants, military invalids, civilian labor invalids, members of their families and beneficiaries of the right to financial compensation security for combatants, beneficiaries of social protection rights in accordance with special regulations, persons who are serving a prison sentence, as well as for persons who have been sentenced to mandatory custody and mandatory treatment of alcoholics and drug addicts, the contribution rate now amounts to 4,3 percent of that gross income, and until now it was 3,8 percent.

The contribution rate for foreign pensioners, registered farmers, i.e. owners of agricultural land, for priests, religious officials, monks and nuns and persons with personal insurance, the contribution now amounts to 12,8 percent of the reported gross income, and previously it was 12,3 percent.

The contribution rate for beneficiaries of pensions according to the regulations on pension and disability insurance of Montenegro remained one percent as before.

The deficit is now 25 million euros

With this year's budget, which was drawn up before the amendment to the Law on Increasing Contributions was proposed, the Government plans to receive a total of 145 million euros from health insurance contributions.

At the same time, the cost of health care amounts to about 170 million, which means that a deficit of 25 million euros is compensated from other state revenues.

Now, due to the increase in contributions, that deficit will be smaller for the expected increased income of four to five million euros.

In the explanation of the amendments to the law, the Government stated at the time that the additional income would be spent on increasing the quality of health care.

From the average salary, 91 euros goes to healthcare

An employee with an average salary of 480 euros net pays the state 88 euros per month for health insurance.

Of that amount, 61 euros is borne by the employee and is deducted, together with other taxes and contributions, from his gross salary.

The previous contribution for health insurance at the expense of the employer on the average salary was 27 euros, and it was calculated with other taxes and contributions at the expense of the employer on the gross salary.

Now the total contribution for health care on the average salary will amount to 91,6 euros, of which only the amount for the employer will increase to 31,6 euros.