PM Đukanović at today's Cabinet session: Taxes increase unacceptable, we have to reduce existing ones

Podgorica, Montenegro (26 March 2015) – At today’s session, Montenegro’s Cabinet adopted the Analysis of the tax policy implementation for 2014. The analysis notes that the total tax revenue in 2014 amounts to EUR 1,501,4 million, which is 8.81% more compared to 2013.

The government also adopted the report on the public debt of Montenegro at end-December 2014. According to the report, national debt, taking into account the Finance Ministry’s deposits as well, stood at EUR 2,022 billion or 59.6% of the GDP.

Within the debate on the Analysis of the tax policy implementation, Prime Minister Đukanović stressed the need for the government to resist pressure to increase taxes, saying that any tax increase is unacceptable. He added that "he is explicit" that "no initiative to increase taxes can be accepted, but on the contrary, that we have to reduce taxes, especially the ones we have introduced as "crisis taxes " in order not to melt Montenegro’s advantage for foreign investment." On the other hand, the Prime Minister referred to the need to raise awareness of responsibility towards the state through regular payment of taxes.

Speaking of Montenegro’s public debt, PM Đukanović called on his Cabinet members to respect planned expenditure and stressed the necessity of reconciling costs and revenues by the end of the year.

In order to modernise the country’s prison system and introduce modern solutions of international law in this area, the Government adopted the Law on the enforcement of sentences of imprisonment, fines and security measures. The new law will enable better respect for human rights of prisoners, as well as a more humane and cost-effective execution of imprisonment. Also, many novelties being introduced in this law will affect reduction of the prison population and indirectly strengthen the enforcement of alternative sanctions and measures.

Today’s Cabinet session also adopted at the information on the implementation of the project of solving housing issues of vulnerable groups of people in northern Montenegro and accepted the agreement on purchase of 31 residential units from the Montenegrin Fund for Solidarity Housing Construction in the amount of EUR 999,544. The cabinet tasked relevant ministries to allocate 23 residential units in municipalities of Rožaje, Plužine and Mojkovac for social housing programmes, as well as to solve urgent housing issue of employees in the public sector. Eight residential units in Bijelo Polje are intended to address housing needs of employees of the Ministry of the Interior.