Today, the Parliamentary Committee for the Economy supported the proposals for changes to a set of six financial laws on excise taxes, on real estate sales tax, on the prevention of illegal business, on the profit tax of legal entities, on games of chance and on the budget and fiscal responsibility, which will be discussed by the Parliament. February 28.
At the session, it was announced that there will be amendments, as well as that the Chamber of Commerce of Montenegro and the American Chamber of Commerce in Montenegro sent the committee comments, mainly on the urgency of adopting the law and the fact that there was no public discussion. The Association of Organizers of Games of Chance Montenegro bet sent their comments, and their representatives participated in the discussion at the board meeting yesterday.
The proposer, the Ministry of Finance, and deputies can submit possible amendments until Monday, February 27 at noon.
Minister Aleksandar Damjanović said that the laws were proposed under an urgent procedure due to obligations from negotiations with the World Bank and the European Union, as well as to prevent abuses that were discovered and help the municipal and state budget.
The amendments to the law on corporate income tax, as explained by the State Secretary in the Ministry of Finance Ilija Vukčević, foresee an increase in withholding tax for companies from offshore zones as well as the regulation of so-called "transfer prices", i.e. transactions between domestic companies and companies from " tax havens".
He said that the goal of this proposal is to prevent the outflow of tax-free money from Montenegro and money laundering, as well as that similar norms exist in EU countries.
They are repairing the consequences of "Europe Now"
DF MP Branko Radulović said that this set of laws is being proposed in order to rehabilitate the consequences for the state budget from "Europe Now", that many measures are late and that he will support all six amendments to the law.
"Which of the businessmen of the former regime did not do this. We lack the financial police, when they come, your pants shake," said Radulović.
Democrat MP Zdenka Popović said that she supports these changes to the law and that they should have been adopted earlier.
The chairman of the committee, MP Dejan Đurović, said that Montenegro was a paradise for tax evasion and money laundering in recent years and supported the proposal.
The amendments to the law on real estate sales tax stipulate that real estate worth up to 150 euros will remain subject to a tax rate of three percent, while a tax rate of five percent will apply to the portion of the amount over that limit.
Damjanović stated that according to the existing law, 90 percent of this tax goes to the municipalities and 10 percent to the Equalization Fund.
Popović and Đurović announced amendments to increase the percentage going to the Equalization Fund, that is, to less developed municipalities.
Popović said that the introduction of a higher tax rate on luxury real estate is a good solution, because it is not fair that someone who fixes a roof over their head and someone who buys entire buildings have the same rate.
Organizers of games of chance complain about the amount of concessions
Amendments to the law on games of chance foresee the introduction of larger amounts of concessions for games of chance over the internet and for casinos.
The organizers of betting games of chance via the Internet will pay the fixed part of the concession, as before, 10.000 euros per month, but for the first time a variable concession of 10 percent is introduced for the difference between the total payments and payouts of winnings.
In the case of casinos, instead of a one-time fee of two million euros that was paid when issuing a concession and an annual fee of 50.000 euros, which was established 19 years ago and which inflation has since devalued, it is proposed to introduce a monthly concession of 41.666 euros. This amount of the concession will also apply to online casinos, that is, the arrangement of games on machines via the Internet and other telecommunications means.
Đurović said that on the occasion of these amendments to the law, he received a letter from the Association of Organizers of Games of Chance, Montenegro bet, who expressed their objections and requested to attend the board meeting, which he enabled them to do.
Damjanović said that these changes are proposed under an urgent procedure in order to correct the shortcomings of the current law and the insufficient taxation of these forms of games of chance, as well as to prepare a completely new text of the law on which a public hearing will be organized.
He stated that he received two letters from Montenegro beta three days apart, the first in which they support the changes and only complain about the increase in the concession amount for online casinos, while in the second they fully criticize the changes.
Representatives of Montenegro beta, Jovana Klisić and Tatjana Šćepanović, complained that the changes were made according to an urgent procedure and without consultation, while they supported the increase of concessions, but not in the amounts of 400 and 500 percent. They said that there is a large gray market for games of chance, as well as for the illegal organization of games of chance, that four inspectors are insufficient, that misdemeanor rather than criminal charges are issued for the illegal organization of games of chance, that workers may be fired...
Damjanović said that he will consider all objections and that the amount of concessions can also be discussed, but that the organizers of these games paid minor concessions in relation to sales.
URA MP Miloš Konatar said that it is urgently necessary to expand the competences of the Administration for Games of Chance and Inspections, in order to solve the problems pointed out by the organizers.
Traders are blamed for the rise in prices
Amendments to the law on excise duties envisage an extraordinary increase in excise duties on tobacco products from July 1, as well as the introduction and increase of excise duties on sweets, water and juices with sweeteners and on single-use plastics. Excise taxes on cigarettes will be Cigarettes would be ten cents more expensive per pack, a kilogram of sweets would be half a euro, and a liter of juice and water with sweeteners would be 10 to 15 cents each.
Damjanović said that this is one of the norms requested by the World Bank, and that they are in line with EU standards and directives, as well as that he does not expect that there will be a significant increase in prices because traders have large margins and profits on these products.
He said that business representatives complain about the increase in these excise taxes, but that importers and traders of tobacco products do not mention that their turnover and earnings have increased significantly due to the suppression of the gray market.
Democrat MP Danilo Šaranović said that traders had extra profit due to rising prices, as well as that they did not reduce them when food prices fell on world markets and when the state reduced taxes and excise duties.
"Government measures and international relations are not to blame for the rise in prices, but solely the traders' margins," Saranović said.
Đurović proposed to organize an urgent Temst session on the rise in prices, which was accepted, and the date will be set at the next session on March 7.
Amendments to the law on illegal business foresee a ban on companies from giving loans if they have debts to the state for taxes or to workers.
The amendments to the law on fiscal responsibility provide for the formation of an independent fiscal council that would give opinions and evaluations on proposals for financial laws and documents. One representative EACH would be elected on the proposal of the President of the State, the Government and the Committee for the Economy.
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