With a view to assisting in the optimization of this process in 16 municipalities,* the European Union and the Government of Switzerland, through the European PROGRES Programme, have supported a project for improving the efficiency of the local tax administrations with 155,000 Euros.
"According to the estimates, more than 10,000 new taxpayers in 16 local self-governments will start paying property taxes, which is additional annual revenue ranging from 25 to 35 million Dinars. This money can be invested in projects that contribute to economic development and that are important for the local community," said Graeme Tyndall, European PROGRES Programme Manager.
Furthermore, the project has envisaged the engagement of unemployed citizens to make an inventory of facilities in the territory of a municipality, thereby providing an opportunity for 71 persons registered with the National Employment Service (NES) to find temporary jobs.
"Local self-governments will be able to enhance the management of public finances and increase budget revenues through the project. In such a manner, available resources for investment in utility infrastructure will be increased, thus significantly contributing to the quality of life in these communities," says Olivera Kostić, Sector Manager for Competitiveness, European PROGRES.
Among other things, besides infrastructure, these revenues will also be used to improve the technical capacity of local tax administrations, as well as to raise the quality of services that the administration offers to citizens, through the introduction of new services on the official websites of local self-governments.
Aleksinac is one of the municipalities which conducted a local campaign, with the support of European PROGRES, in the period from July 2015 to January 2016, aimed at recording unregistered real estate, under the title "Register your property, support your community."
To begin with, it was necessary to update the tax payers’ registry database of the Aleksinac tax administration, which dated from the 1990s and did not include newly built or demolished buildings. Thus, before the inventory, according to unofficial estimates, there were about 2,000 owners of buildings in the municipality who were not covered by the system of taxation.
In the period of six months, four external employees visited households and legal persons in the territory of the municipality, recorded unregistered real estate and helped fellow citizens on the ground to fill out their tax returns. At the same time, a survey was conducted related to utility and social needs, in order to ensure that the new revenues are spent in accordance with citizens' needs.
The project has resulted in more accurate tax payers` registry database in the territory of the municipality and in 1,600 new taxpayers, which is a remarkable progress for the municipality, according to the local tax administration.
"The contribution of property tax revenue in the municipal budget is expected to go up from the current 3.4% to over 4%. It means that, as of this year, the budget of the municipality of Aleksinac will be richer by six million Dinars on an annual basis from the property tax, and these resources will be invested in infrastructure, primary health care, school buildings, sports and recreation centres," said the Mayor of Aleksinac, Nenad Stanković.
An essential segment of the project was a public information campaign related to the importance of paying taxes, as well as the improvement of the municipal website, where citizens can find all the information about the level of tax rates, the necessary documents, and even the tax calculator which can help them calculate their tax liabilities by themselves, thus significantly shortening the time spent at the counters. By all means, for better understanding and wider coverage of the collection, transparency is the key factor, i.e., that citizens know how their money is being spent.
The initiative worth more than 181,000 Euros is financed by the European Union and the Government of Switzerland through European PROGRES, by providing 85 percent of the funds, while ten percent of the costs will be covered from the budgets of the municipalities included in the project.
* The European Union and the Government of Switzerland through the Programme European PROGRES have helped improve the efficiency of local tax administrations in Priboj, Raška, Bosilegrad, Trgovište, Bujanovac, Preševo, Blace, Tutin, Bela Palanka, Ivanjica, Aleksinac, Babušnica, Crna Trava, Vladičin Han, Gadžin Han and Prijepolje.
