The implementation of the new austerity measures will start a few weeks after the adoption of a budget revision for 2014, the Minister Vujovic says.
The implementation of the new austerity measures, including cuts for pensions and salaries in Serbia’s public sector, will start a few weeks after the adoption of a budget revision for 2014, which will be tabled to the parliament in mid-October, Finance Minister Dusan Vujovic announced on Sunday.
The Serbian government’s decision to implement the measures will be announced in the budget revision bill, Vujovic said.
“Our agreement is to use the revision to explain to the people what is needed and also start the implementation of the measures with it,” Vujovic told TV Prva.
The budget revision must be accompanied by certain laws to make the salary and pension cuts possible, he said, adding that his estimate is that it will take a few weeks to amend those laws.
“Since we have decided in favour of a progressive rather than a linear reduction of incomes, the people with higher incomes will bear most of the burden, which, on the other hand, requires more complex legislative amendments and more time,” Vujovic said.
The budget revision will be tabled to the Serbian parliament in mid-October, and the 2015 budget bill will be tabled as early as the beginning of November, he said.
“Our objective is to pave the way for all measures with the budget revision. We will probably prepare the revision so as to make it close to the adoption of the 2015 budget to be able to discuss in a single debate the essence of all structural measures that we are proposing, and have an immediate consensus,” the finance minister said.
Asked how long the reduction will last, Vujovic said that, if everything is done according to the plan to boost budget revenues, the salaries for the education and health care systems could be increased already in early 2016 in the budget for that year.
“The more successful we are at collecting fiscal receipts, attracting investments and boosting production, the sooner will we be able to increase the incomes. We will discuss that after a year and, if all is as it should be, we can increase our and everyone else’s salaries in the 2016 budget. But we will not do that if there is a danger of relapsing into a situation like this,” Vujovic said.
Vujovic said that salaries and pensions up to RSD 25,000 will not be reduced.
Source B92
