The Ministry of Finance reacted to the article "Worrying data: Revenues from six types of duties are falling", which was published today on the Vijesti portal.
We transmit their response in full:
"Tendential and unfounded reporting by one of the leading media outlets, namely the same author, on a continuous basis, when it comes to public finances, is concerning because it has a dynamic that provides the public with unobjectively informed information over a long period of time.
The data interpreted in the latest text published under the title 'Worrying data: Revenues from six types of duties are falling' was promptly published by the Ministry of Finance on its website. ND Vijesti's request for clarification on the topic they addressed and declared "worrying data" arrived on April 4 at 11.47:24 a.m. This means that not even 58 hours were left for a response, and on the day when the Ministry of Finance is the institutional host of the 100th Annual Joint Meeting of the Board of Directors, Administrative Council and Senior Management of the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB), which brought together more than 43 high-ranking officials from XNUMX countries, and it is up to the public to interpret such an intention of the author of the text. In order to interpret the data truthfully and objectively, we emphasize:
The realization of budget revenues is conditioned by the time dynamics of collection and booking in the state treasury of the Ministry of Finance, whereby the last working day of the month is booked through the treasury system as budget revenue for the following month. Bearing in mind that VAT and contributions are below the plan for two months of 2025, and that on this basis around €4,7 million of VAT and €5,3 million of contributions were booked on the first day of March, it follows that the only reason for the deviation of budget revenues from the plan is precisely in the dynamics of collection and booking of the same through the national accounting system.
Additionally, the dynamics of VAT revenue collection in net amount is affected by the dynamics of VAT refunds, which have been accelerated by the Tax Administration since the beginning of the year. In this sense, VAT refunds for two months of 2025 amounted to €22,8 million, which is as much as €14,0 million more than in the observed period of 2024. The above has a significant impact on stimulating the business environment and eliminating business barriers in the economy.
March data on budget revenues are published at the end of April. The Ministry of Finance monitors daily trends and deviations in the collection of certain budget categories are a standard situation during the year. Specifically, the Tax Administration has informed taxpayers that the prescribed deadline (March 31 of the current year) for submitting financial statements for 2024 and annual corporate income tax returns for 2024 is being postponed to April 18, 2025. Therefore, in this sense, it is possible that certain minor deviations may occur, with the budget being implemented at the desired and expected pace, and there is no question of any risk to implementation on an annual basis.
This is supported by the published data of the Tax Administration on the gross revenue collection achieved, which amounted to 2025 million euros in the first three months of 466, which is 21,7 million euros more than in the same period in 2025, and that the collection plan was exceeded by 17,1 million euros.
"This is a response prepared to be delivered to the Vijesti editorial office this morning, and if the other side had intended to obtain clarification - there would have been no rush to produce a one-sided text. We emphasize that the inquiry of the editor of the economic editorial office on another topic was answered on the same day, precisely on April 4, but it is obvious that the prioritization of topics for today's edition was driven by other motives," the Ministry of Finance said.
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