After protests and confusion, the Prime Minister says he will delay the introduction of the property tax.
Prime Minister Andrej Plenković announced on Tuesday evening a delay in the implementation of the property tax.
Speaking in an interview with the Croatian Radio Television, Plenković said that the property tax was adopted by the Parliament at the end of last year as part of the Law on Local Taxes and in the context of the major tax reform. It was supposed to be a revenue of the local self-government units.
According to Plenković, the idea was that it would be a kind of simplification of the current communal fee, for the purpose of achieving greater equity and efficiency. “However, at this point, after additional analyses have been performed, we think that the wisest solution will be to propose a delay in its implementation for a foreseeable period,” said Plenković, adding that his coalition partners shared his position and that he, as the Prime Minister, would advocate for the postponement.
Asked how long the delay would be, he replied that it would be determined after additional analyses. He noted that similar taxes already existed in other countries. “In a comparative study, Croatia is at the bottom. However, considering that out people are attached to their properties and given the recent debates about the issue, which at this moment has not been explained adequately in our communication with the public and the citizens, a delay would be the wisest solution, and I will advocate that as the Prime Minister,” he said.
The property tax, which was supposed to be introduced beginning in January, has caused a lot of protests and confusion.
