Krstic announces three-year arrangement talks with IMF

BELGRADE - Serbian Finance Minister in the technical government Lazar Krstic has said that the new Serbian government, which will be formed after the forthcoming parliamentary elections, will be negotiating a new three-year arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The outgoing government should carry out all the preparations so that the new government could make a decision and conclude a new agreement with the IMF, Krstic said on a Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) talk show late on Wednesday.

Krstic explained that the technical discussions begun yesterday and that Monday, March 3, will see the start of official discussions at a plenary session that will be held at the National Bank of Serbia (NBS).

Serbia will have to conclude a new three-year arrangement with the IMF and pledge carrying out a certain strategy for the duration of the period, the finance minister said. “We have no time to waste at all,” warned Krstic, adding that he believes that the future government will behave responsibly, as it will have to pass unpopular measures.

Asked what these unpopular measures, which will probably be agreed with the IMF, may be, Krstic said that the government will not give up on solidarity tax, as earnings in the public sector are rather enormous in comparison to the private sector, especially in public enterprises, and the public sector is too large and must be reduced.

Since there are no mechanisms for limiting salaries in public enterprises, the state will have to adopt systemic legislation to limit them, said Krstic.

He said that there is no room for tax increase, but there is room for a tax base expansion, which will be made possible by a decisive struggle against “gray” economy...

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