Đelić: 2008 budget next week

The making of the budget is in the final stages and it will be adopted in the next couple of days, Deputy PM Bozidar Djelic says. The negotiations on the date for the presidential and local elections are not the reason why the government is late in sending the budget draft to the parliament, although November 1 was the deadline for this, Djelic said. Djelic: 2008 budget next week The proposed law on changes and amendments to the Law on Citizens' Income Tax envisages slashing of the current 20 percent rate to 10 percent, he added. The draft on changes and amendments to the Law on Company Income Tax, determined Friday, proposed a shortening of the deadline to cover capital losses with capital gains, from ten to five years, as is standard practice in the region, Djelic explained. The changes are necessary in order to harmonize the law with regulation that has been adopted in the meanwhile, such as the laws on bookkeeping, banks and securities market, he added, stating that the changes were mostly of a technical nature. The government did not discuss Economy Minister Mladjan Dinkic's proposal to opt for a majority NIS privatization, Djelic said, adding however that the NIS decisions needed to be made quickly. He also said the NIS privatization procedure will be conducted in a "transparent manner and in the best interest of the state of Serbia." The government earlier went with its privatization advisor for the Serbian oil monopoly when it opted for a sale of the company's minority package. But now Russian Gazprom, seen as one of the chief contenders to take part in the privatization, wants a majority package.

Đelić: 2008 budget next week

The proposed law on changes and amendments to the Law on Citizens' Income Tax envisages slashing of the current 20 percent rate to 10 percent, he added.

The draft on changes and amendments to the Law on Company Income Tax, determined Friday, proposed a shortening of the deadline to cover capital losses with capital gains, from ten to five years, as is standard practice in the region, Đelić explained.

The changes are necessary in order to harmonize the law with regulation that has been adopted in the meanwhile, such as the laws on bookkeeping, banks and securities market, he added, stating that the changes were mostly of a technical nature.

The government did not discuss Economy Minister Mlađan Dinkić's proposal to opt for a majority NIS privatization, Đelić said, adding however that the NIS decisions needed to be made quickly.

He also said the NIS privatization procedure will be conducted in a "transparent manner and in the best interest of the state of Serbia."

The government earlier went with its privatization advisor for the Serbian oil monopoly when it opted for a sale of the company's minority package.

But now Russian Gazprom, seen as one of the chief contenders to take part in the privatization, wants a majority package.