Finance Minister Slavko Linic has said that this year will be marked by the struggle for salvaging and creating jobs and that the Croatian citizens are bearing the brunt of the crisis.
All that is being done is for the purpose of reviving the stagnating economy as a result of which will be providing the citizens with economic stability and security, Linic said on Saturday.
We have increased the Value Added Tax, raised the electricity and gas prices in order to ease the burden on the economy. It is the citizens who are suffering from this policy and they are carrying the burden of the crisis, and all that has been done to ensure the better prospects of the economic sector, he said at a meeting of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Zadar.
Therefore business people should also be prepared for changes, he added.
The finance minister said that he was saddened by reactions of some business people who he said did not want to pay contributions and taxes but would like to continue with the practice of defrauding and cheating the state, employees and creditors.
However, this must stop, or we will seize your property, Linic emphasised in his message to tax evaders.
He said that Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic tasked government ministers with increasing investments.
This must be done also by public companies and state-owned companies, Linic told his SDP colleagues adding that for instance in the past 12 years, investments had been made only into road construction while the rail infrastructure had gone down the drain. "This must be changed," he stressed.
