A panel entitled "Public Finance in the Function of the Development of the Republic of Croatia" was held at the VERN' Polytechnic, with the participation of the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Croatia Boris Lalovac, and former ministers in that department Martina Dalić, Mato Crkvenac and Borislav Škegro.
A panel entitled "Public Finance in the Function of the Development of the Republic of Croatia" was held at the VERN' Polytechnic, with the participation of the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Croatia Boris Lalovac , and former ministers in that department Martina Dalić , Mato Crkvenac and Borislav Škegro .
The panel was opened by the Dean of VERN , Prof. Dr. Sc Vlatko Cvrtila, who emphasized that the topic of state financial management is always current and equally important, regardless of financial trends or election year.
In his introductory speech, Minister Boris Lalovac pointed out that "all EU countries have pressure on public finances, because trends in the entire economy are always viewed through the prism of the public treasury."
The panel participants discussed topics that significantly undermine the stability of state finances, such as growing foreign debt, high labor and value-added taxes, expensive parafiscal levies, cumbersome public administration, budget sustainability and GDP growth, and fire-fighting social measures in an election year, the high price of which will certainly come to the citizens and the economy.
"To stimulate economic growth, it is necessary to develop debt restructuring instruments and simplify the tax system. The pension and healthcare systems generate the most costs in state finances, and this difference between revenues and expenditures can no longer be covered by increasing taxes, but by reforming public administration and reducing budget expenditures," said Minister Lalovac .
"The tax system is not our biggest problem. It is obscuring the problem and creating the misconception that problems in public finances can be solved by tax changes. The problems of the Croatian economy and society are far greater than they could be fixed or significantly alleviated by small shifts in tax rates," warned Borislav Škegro , adding that some of these bigger problems are the inefficiency of public administration and local self-government.
"It is necessary to reform the public sector, because it is the biggest obstacle to economic recovery," emphasized former minister Martina Dalić , adding that the government should move away from reactive policies in managing state finances.
"In state finances, mostly ad hoc solutions are being adopted, and our society needs comprehensive solutions that will include a review of labor taxation and the high VAT rate, which has become a predominant and unfair tax," said former minister Mato Crkvenac .
