Tim za socijalno uključivanje i smanjenje siromaštva

The Minister of Finance in the Government of the Republic of Serbia, Dušan Vujović stated on 21 September that decrease of wages and pensions was one of the ten austerity measures to be implemented immediately with a view to reducing the budget deficit. In addition to the serious plan for increasing revenues, the budget deficit in 2015 is expected to be reduced by approximately EUR 728 million at annual level and by more than EUR 1 billion in 2016. The package of austerity measures will also include a decision on freeze of wages in the public sector and pensions until further notice, the minister confirmed. Vujović confirmed the effectiveness of the ban on new employment in the public sector, the measure which came into effect early this year.

According to him, the sizeable savings are also expected from refinancing the current, less than favourable loans that Serbia has taken, which would reduce the expenditures of the state by as much as EU 2 billion.

In adittion to these measures, the Government plan is also based on a more substantive influx of budget revenues by increasing the scope of collection instead of increasing taxes and with a view to increasing tax revenues, the minister stressed.  – There are no areas that we will be granting ineffective subsidies for. The plan is to change the attitude to subsidies entirely, approximating it to that prevailing in the EU countries, Vujović concluded.

Source: www.srbija.gov.rs