Representatives of 12 bilateral chambers of commerce in Serbia have proposed a list of measures, which they sent to the Ministry of Finance, with the view of supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in the country that are facing a decline in their business activities or a total cessation due to the coronavirus outbreak.
“The current situation has made out bilateral organizations come up with an idea to appeal to the authorities and the line ministries to urge them to consider how the coronavirus epidemic reflects on the operations of our small and medium-sized enterprises, which are in the biggest danger in such a situation,” says the press release of the 12 foreign chambers of commerce, which have several thousand companies as members.
Discover the most important foreign investments in Serbia in 2019: click here!
They propose the following measures – deferring the payment of tax and payroll contributions for SMEs (such as a reduction of lump-sum tax payment obligations, or exemption from payroll taxes and contributions), easier access to bank loans and direct support in the form of subsidies or programmes of refundable aid and guarantees for liquidity.
For the heavily affected sectors, such as tourism and hospitality, cultural industry and international transport, they propose the cancellation of advance corporate income tax payments and the wage taxes and contributions.
The initiative is signed by: French-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Belgian-Serbian Business Association, British-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Italian-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Association of Italian Companies in Serbia – Confindustria, Hellenic Business Association Serbia, Dutch-Serbian Business Association, Croatian Business Club, Polish-Serbian Business Association, Slovenian Business Club and Swiss-Serbian Chamber of Commerce.
(Blic, 20.03.2020)
This post is also available in: Italiano