Online Register of Non-Tax Charges Presented – Citizens and Economy Paying 2,000 Parafiscal Charges

The Online Register of Non-Tax Charges encompasses more than 2,000 fees and compensations for the use of public goods on the republic, local and provincial levels, which is the most widely encompassing register yet of the obligations that the citizens and the economy have toward the state outside the taxes, the NALED announced.

The register was presented at the closing conference of “The Project for the Reform of Non-Tax Revenues”, and it was created by Partner Solutions, KPMG, the NALED and the Mihajlo Pupin Institute, with the support of the USAID.

Within the register, fees, compensations and other charges are proscribed through more than 500 laws and bylaws.

It was announced that the implementation of the register would have a great practical benefit, because the citizens and the economy would have, in one place, a clear insight into what they are paying, to which institutions and for what purpose, the amounts of the charges, the numbers of payment accounts and other useful information, which is now hard to get.

The organs and the institutions which proscribe a non-tax charge would be in charge of the initial entry and the subsequent changes to any element of the charge, which would ensure that the register is fully up-to-date, whereas the Ministry of Finance would have a controlling function.

The state secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Slavica Savicic, said that the register was a good basis, which should result in a new legal framework in this area.

At the gathering, it was pointed out that the reform of non-tax charges and the establishment of the register as a public register could be realized in phases, whereby the register would initially feature all the fees, and then the other charges as well.

The register would function with adherence to the principle that no non-tax charge, proscribed by law or bylaw, cannot be collected unless it has been entered into the register.

The manager of corporate affairs at KPMG, Milica Bisic, pointed out that the non-transparency of non-tax charges was the key problem to be solved, as well as the question of parafiscal charges.

– In addition to the fact that it is hard to count them all and that it is not certain what needs to be paid and to whom, the problem with non-tax charges is that it is not known how much they cost the citizens and the economy in total. During the project, we listed as many as 1,200 charges at the republic level, for which, in one year alone, around RSD 160 billion was charged – Bisic said.

Using this register, all the local self-governments would harmonize the names of the fees they are charging and group them in adequate areas.

In addition to the fact that they would thereby manage the collection more easily, towns and municipalities would also make things easier for business people, especially those who operate in several municipalities, the announcement says.

Partner Solutions doo Beograd

KPMG d.o.o. Beograd

NALED

Institut Mihajlo Pupin doo Beograd

USAID Srbija

Ministarstvo finansija Republike Srbije

Milica Bisić

Slavica Savičić

Online Register of Non Tax Charges