Excise duty on electricity should be introduced in 2015

BELGRADE - The excise duty on electricity should be introduced in Serbia, but it could be set at zero this year in order to cut the upcoming price increase in half, economist Stojan Stamenkovic said Tuesday.

A 15 pct increase in the electricity price could affect the economic activity of Serbia, Stamenkovic said at the presentation of the latest issue of economic bulletin Macroeconomic Analyses and Trends (MAT).

The government of Serbia committed in the agreement with the International Monetary Fund to raise the electricity bills by 15 pct as of April 1, but the deadline was pushed back to the end of the month, after the heating season is over.

MAT editor Stamenkovic recalled that the authors of this publication warned two months ago that the 15 pct electricity price hike should not be considered as an option in a period of declining consumption.
"If the budget deficit is smaller than expected, it would be good if the government introduced the excise duty on electricity, but this year it should be set at zero," he said.

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