Croatian hospitality facilities, well, some of them at least, are getting a bit political in the run up to the elections. Some rather interesting and original approaches are being used and one of them is particularly clever.
The elections are rapidly approaching in Croatia and as with each and every time there is an election or indeed political event of any kind, numerous issues that have been left to linger in the background to rot get dragged back to the forefront in a flurry of pre-election promises that nobody ever truly expects to be fulfilled. VAT is one burning issue that bothers everyone, and yet nobody really wants to tackle it.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 24th of June, 2020, if you happen to find yourself sitting down to drink some coffee in Kostrena's Mosquito bar with its beautiful sea view, you will also be able to read an unusual message written by the owner of the facility at the bottom of your bill.
"PP and the highest VAT in Europe are calculated [and included] in the price. Spain and Italy 10, Hungary 5, Greece 13, and France and Slovenia 6 percent. Let's go to the polls and stop the tax repression of the state that exists in order to provide privileges for the eligible," the strong and clear message against Croatia's extortionate VAT reads.
The owner of this particular Croatian hospitality facility explained to Morski.hr precisely what prompted him to make such an interesting move to encourage citizens to go to the polls.
"It was simply because many people weren't aware of the facts at all. If there is the VAT level I mentioned exists in countries which rely on tourism and have a few hundred million inhabitants, how are we any different, and yet we're promoting ourselves as a tourist country? There were many people in the hospitality sector who worked while the VAT on catering services was 13 percent and also when they raised it to 25 percent, and then many put their stores up for sale because their businesses sadly became unprofitable. The government only went out to meet the hotel lobby and the restaurants managed to receive a reduction down to 13 percent VAT on food services,'' said Miro Juraj, the owner of the Mosquito bar in Kostrena.
He points out that this is his way of encouraging people to go to the polls because elections, he says, are the only place where some things can be made to change.
"Everyone who complains that coffee is too expensive for them, should know that every third employee is a state employee, that's how much money is given to the state," concluded Juraj.
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