Government considering reducing fuel charges – Excise taxes not priority for IMF

The head of the mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to Serbia, James Roaf, believes that excise taxes should not be a priority and that the rising prices of fuel in the past year were a result of the rising prices of oil, not the increase of excise taxes.

At a joint conference with representatives of the Government of Serbia and the National Bank of Serbia, Roaf said that, in the context of the growth of the economy, VAT and excise taxes were “good taxes” and that a reduction of the labor tax or parafiscal charges would have a much greater effect.

Serbian Minister of Finance Sinisa Mali agreed with the IMF's assessment, but added that the Government of Serbia still considered the option of reducing excise taxes on fuel.

– We are working intensively with the prime minister to come up with the best measure possible and to meet citizens half-way regarding this issue as well – Mali said at the press conference at the Government of Serbia.

He explained that not every measure could be considered in isolation and that the priority was to increase the competitiveness of the economy with measures that will contribute to increased economic activities.

Međunarodni monetarni fond-MMF Beograd

Ministarstvo finansija Republike Srbije

Narodna banka Srbije Beograd

NBS

James Roaf

Sinisa Mali

excise taxes on fuel

price of fuel

price of petrol

price of diesel fuel

VAT

excise taxes

parafiscal charges