Parliament passes Serbia's 2012 budget review

BELGRADE The Serbian parliament on Tuesday voted to accept the 2012 draft budget review in principle, and is now set to vote on the amendments submitted to the draft. Of the 187 MPs present at the vote, 135 voted in favor, 36 against and 16 did not vote for the bill that envisages a deficit of RSD 203.6 billion or 6.2 percent of GDP. Parliament passes Serbia's 2012 budget review The expected revenue is RSD 829.6 billion, of which RSD 700.6 billion or 84.5 percent from taxes and RSD 127.35 billion or 15.4 percent from other sources. Donations account for the remainder of RSD 1.6 billion or 0.2 percent of the total revenue. It is estimated that tax revenue will go up 3.3 percent compared to the original budget, while revenue from other sources will go down 16.5 percent. MPs are today also exepcted to vote on accompanying laws, and a package of laws on fiscal consolidation. After they were presented and debated for several days last week, the voting on a total of 36 bills and other acts of the 9th extraordinary session started this morning. The Serbian parliament adopted a package of 24 laws on fiscal consolidation thus abolishing 138 parafiscal taxes, seven agencies, funds and regulatory bodies. The adopted amendments closed down the National Corporation for Tourism Development, the Environmental Protection Fund, the Chemicals Agency, the Energy Efficiency Agency, the Games of Chance Administration, the Foreign Currency Inspectorate, and their competences were transferred to the ministries and other state bodies. The budget fund for financing of disease prevention programs was closed down through the amendments to the Tobacco Law. The package of adopted laws on fiscal consolidation eradicates 138 taxes and parafiscal charges, out of a total of 380, and Minister of Finance and Economy Mladjan Dinkic said earlier that in this manner a burden of a total of RSD 10 billion will be removed from the citizens and economy. MPs also voted to elect Ana Gligorijevic, Diana Dragutinovic and Veselin Pjescic as vice governors of the National Bank of Serbia (NBS). Their election as NBS vice governors, proposed by NBS Governor Jorgovanka Tabakovic, was supported by 134 MPs, while three MPs were against. Gligorijevic and Dragutinovic have been performing the same duty so far, while Pjescic held the office of director general of the NBS sector for affairs of the monetary system and policy until June, after which he was the governor's advisor. The amendments to the NBS Law adopted on August 4 at the beginning of mandate of the new government read that the vice governors are appointed by the Serbian parliament on the governor's proposal within 90 days from the date of enforcement of the law. Also on Tuesday, MPs voted to approve a draft envisaging a hike of the VAT rate to 20 from 18 percent. A view of the Serbian parliament (Beta, file) Tanjug

Parliament passes Serbia's 2012 budget review

The expected revenue is RSD 829.6 billion, of which RSD 700.6 billion or 84.5 percent from taxes and RSD 127.35 billion or 15.4 percent from other sources.

Donations account for the remainder of RSD 1.6 billion or 0.2 percent of the total revenue.

It is estimated that tax revenue will go up 3.3 percent compared to the original budget, while revenue from other sources will go down 16.5 percent.

MPs are today also exepcted to vote on accompanying laws, and a package of laws on fiscal consolidation.

After they were presented and debated for several days last week, the voting on a total of 36 bills and other acts of the 9th extraordinary session started this morning.

The Serbian parliament adopted a package of 24 laws on fiscal consolidation thus abolishing 138 parafiscal taxes, seven agencies, funds and regulatory bodies.

The adopted amendments closed down the National Corporation for Tourism Development, the Environmental Protection Fund, the Chemicals Agency, the Energy Efficiency Agency, the Games of Chance Administration, the Foreign Currency Inspectorate, and their competences were transferred to the ministries and other state bodies.

The budget fund for financing of disease prevention programs was closed down through the amendments to the Tobacco Law.

The package of adopted laws on fiscal consolidation eradicates 138 taxes and parafiscal charges, out of a total of 380, and Minister of Finance and Economy Mlađan Dinkić said earlier that in this manner a burden of a total of RSD 10 billion will be removed from the citizens and economy.

MPs also voted to elect Ana Gligorijević, Diana Dragutinović and Veselin Pješčić as vice governors of the National Bank of Serbia (NBS).

Their election as NBS vice governors, proposed by NBS Governor Jorgovanka Tabakovic, was supported by 134 MPs, while three MPs were against.

Gligorijević and Dragutinović have been performing the same duty so far, while Pješčić held the office of director general of the NBS sector for affairs of the monetary system and policy until June, after which he was the governor's advisor.

The amendments to the NBS Law adopted on August 4 at the beginning of mandate of the new government read that the vice governors are appointed by the Serbian parliament on the governor's proposal within 90 days from the date of enforcement of the law.

Also on Tuesday, MPs voted to approve a draft envisaging a hike of the VAT rate to 20 from 18 percent.