The Minister of Finance, Sinisa Mali, stated today that the company “Coka-Cola” paid 159 million euros of tax revenues into the Serbian budget last year, and pointed out that such large numbers, not only that, but also other companies, oblige the state to support their growth and development.
At the online conference “Partnership for the Future”, on the occasion of the presentation of the fourth study “Socio-economic impact of the Coca-Cola system in Serbia”, Mali congratulated the employees and management of the company on the results they achieve and large figures paid into the Serbian budget.
“The Serbian government has a great obligation to such large companies as Coca-Cola to play a smart role that should support that growth and development,” Mali said.
He pointed out that the year was challenging and difficult for us, because it was conducted on two fronts – preserving the health of the nation and preserving the economy.
Mali said that “Coca-Cola” did not use the measures from the economic package of aid, and added that this was expected from such a large system, which showed that it is resistant to the crisis.
He reminded that the state helped the economy and citizens during the pandemic with 6 million euros which is 13 percent of GDP, and pointed out that this was the first time in history that the state took on the brunt of the crisis to help those most in need, which are micro, small and medium enterprises.
These measures, he said, were possible due to previously implemented reforms, sound finances, with a reminder that Serbia had a budget surplus for four years in a row, the level of public debt below 60 percent and stable inflation.
He pointed out that these measures contributed to maintaining the level of employment, adding that the unemployment rate in the third quarter (7.4 percent) was even lower than the rate in the first quarter (9 percent), before the start of the pandemic.
Mali said that Serbia will have the smallest drop in GDP in Europe, which, he says, is the result of a responsible policy that quickly responded to the crisis caused by the corona.
“It is very important for Coca-Cola and all other large companies to react in the right way to the crisis and to be ready to minimize the negative consequences caused by Covid,” Mali underlined.
He reminded that the budget for 2021 was recently defended in the Serbian Parliament, which, he points out, is dedicated to further growth and development of the economy by investing in capital investments, but also to increasing demand, ie by increasing salaries and pensions.
He stated that the budget for next year set aside 3 billion euros for capital investments, ie for investments in infrastructure, industrial parks, water supply and sewerage…
He is convinced that investing in capital investments will also affect the attraction of domestic and foreign direct investments.
The minister added that Serbia will have 2.3 billion euros of foreign direct investments by the end of the year, which, he says, is 60% of the total investments coming to the region of the Western Balkans.
He reminds that yesterday in Indjija, the cornerstone was laid for the construction of the Japanese tire factory “Tojo Tire”, and he stated that the value of that investment alone is 382 million euros.
“We expect an even greater inflow of foreign direct investments in the next period as well. No investor has given up investing in Serbia, and that shows how successful we have been,” Mali emphasized.
In addition to the high amount for capital investments, Mali points out that the plan for next year is to maintain the level of demand, that is why, he says, from January 1, pensions will be increased by 5.9 percent, salaries, minimum wages.
Next year, he adds, the burden on salaries will be reduced by 0.6 percent.
“We give the opportunity for demand to be at a high level and to contribute to GDP growth,” said Mali, adding that this is important for all companies in our country, because their business also depends on that demand.
He announced that the state is also working on creating a better business environment, and, he points out, after 15 years, the system on fiscalization will be completely changed with the adoption of the new Law on Fiscalization.
According to Mali, it will be introduced at no cost to the economy and will be important in the fight against the gray economy.
In addition, says Mali, a system of e-invoices will be introduced next year, which, he recalls, was one of the biggest demands of the economy, but the reform of the tax administration will also be continued.
The Minister pointed out that the government listens to the economy and called on businessmen to submit opinions, suggestions and criticism that will contribute to a better business environment in Serbia and a better result for all companies.
“The bigger and more successful you are, the more money you will earn, the more money there will be for employees, and there will be a larger inflow for the budget of Serbia,” concluded Mali, Danas reports.
