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PM Marković at PMQs: The State cannot bear burden of this difficult time alone, commercial banks need to respond more strongly to challenges

Published on: Jul 22, 2020 • 9:14 PM Author: PR Service
Prime Minister of Montenegro Duško Marković said today in the Parliament that the burden of this difficult time cannot and must not be borne only by the State.

"In the four months of the crisis, banks have continued to lend and brought in extra money into the system, and that is good. It is not good that during these four months, the net growth of the loan portfolio of the Investment and Development Fund towards the economy is higher than the growth achieved by all 13 commercial banks together towards all sectors! I would say that it is inadmissible. And let's be clear - the Investment and Development Fund did not over-finance, but commercial banks did not finance enough. That is why I call on commercial banks to respond more strongly to the challenges of the time ahead. They will have the support of the State, and a healthy client is in their interest too" - said Prime Minister Duško Marković.

Answering the question of the MP Club of the Social Democratic Party why the Government and the ruling majority rejected the party's legal proposals to reduce the VAT rate for tourism and hospitality industry, the Prime Minister said that any change in the legal solution, especially those with significant fiscal implications, requires a detailed fiscal impact analysis in order not to jeopardize the liquidity of the Budget and thus the sustainability of public finances, and that the Government will not neglect either the socially vulnerable categories or the tourism sector.

"The third package of economic measures we have worked on devotedly and dedicatedly is in the final phase. Although it is oriented to development and long-term support for sectoral policies, we have prepared the greatest possible response to the current, never more challenging economic moment. We will not neglect the socially endangered categories of our population and we will not allow the current crisis to impose an additional burden on the already modest budgets. And that doesn't require anyone's intervention or mediation! The Government will not neglect the needs of the tourism sector or other branches of the economy, which need support and assistance the most. I spoke about that in response to MP Gvozdenović's question. One of the measures is the amendment of the Law on Value Added Tax in terms of reducing tax rates for tourism and hospitality industry in times of crisis, and this issue is also analyzed in great detail. In addition, we must not allow the bankruptcy of solvent entrepreneurs and companies to endanger the entire system due to unprecedented illiquidity. There is no greater economic damage than when a healthy and sustainable entrepreneur goes bankrupt due to currently unfavourable and insufficient money flows," said the Prime Minister.

For full press release in Montenegrin please click here.

PUBLIC RELATIONS SERVICE OF THE GOVERNMENT OF MONTENEGRO


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