The list contains companies with the tax debt exceeding the threshold of 300,000 kuna, small businesses whose tax debt is over the HRK 100,000 kuna threshold and individual citizens whose tax debt exceeds the threshold of HRK 15,000 and is in arrears of more than 90 days.

The list does not include of tax payers who have agreed with the administration about the rescheduling of the payment of their tax debt.

Announcing the tax defaulters' list, Finance Minister Slavko Linic said last week that the government wanted to make a clear distinction between defaulting payers and those who paid their taxes on a regular basis. Critics of this move say that the list publication would have no effect as many of those defaulters have already gone bankrupt.

As for the companies, the list is headed by the Zagreb-based Tempo construction company with a tax debt of HRK 292 million.

It is followed by the Croatian national broadcaster HRT whose tax debt is HRK 222 million.

The Zagreb-based Pan paper industry, which has filed for bankruptcy, is third with a debt of HRK 143 million.

The Industrogradnja construction company and the Varazdin-based Varteks clothes producer rank fourth and fifth respectively, with their debts exceeding HRK 100 million.

The list of defaulting companies includes 7,124 entries, and a total debt of those companies being in arrears for more than 90 days is unofficially estimated at over HRK 15 billion.

There are 13,066 defaulting small businesses whose total tax debt is unofficially estimated at over 4.4 billion kuna.

The list of individual citizens being late for more than 90 days in paying their taxes contains 82,180 names and their total debt is unofficially placed at HRK 10 billion.

The top defaulter in this list owes HRK 61 million to the state.