09. 11. 2005

TV SUBSCRIPTION THE MOST UNBENDING TAX

BELGRADE, November 9, 2005 - Economic Institute experts said that it would be hard to keep next year’s inflation rate in the single digits. “After the 1.7 percent price raise in October, it is most likely that this year’s inflation rate will exceed 15 percent. If the prices for heating, water and electricity go up, the inflation rate next year will most likely be higher than the projected 9.3 per cent”, said Stojan Stamenkovic from the Economic Institute. According to Stamenkovic, the measures which the National Bank of Serbia is looking to implement will not significantly decrease the inflation rate. Stamenkovic added that the inflation rate continually rising has a lot to do with the demand, world price of energy and monopolistic market in Serbia. The inflationary increase in Serbia was mostly affected by the monopolistic position of the manufacturers of dairy, oil and sugar, as well as local public companies. RTS subscription is the most unbending tax in Serbia. It cannot be reduced in any way, while in the same time it affects the increase of public expenditure. “When RTS was financed from the state budget, these expenses were 0.1 percent of the public revenues, while by paying the monthly subscription, they have mounted to 0.4 and 0.5 percent”, said Stamenkovic. According to the prognosis of the Economic Institute, if the electricity was to become more expensive by the end of this year, it would lessen the inflationary pressure for the next year. It is also recommended to invalidate the tariff system and all beneficiary prices for certain categories of consumers.