The announced "tax reforms" are closer to the definition of ad-hoc measures likely driven by fiscal necessity, but not by a desire for reform, because they are not based on economic and financial analyzes that are transparent and strategically framed that will ensure predictability for all stakeholders, the CIVITAX Group states in today's statement on the proposed tax reform.

From there they say that these so-called "tax reforms" focus and are based only on increasing the tax base for fiscal purposes and they say that tax reforms are more than collecting revenues in the central budget. Tax reforms, they point out, should be at least for fiscal effect, and more for: efficient and equal treatment of economic operators, ensuring an equal tax burden for taxpayers and removing market deviations, clearly defining tax goals, stability and predictability of the tax system. system, a clearly codified administrative tax system in the law and by-laws that enables maximization of tax compliance by taxpayers, clear connection of the tax system with fiscal, economic and social goals in the state, etc. Hence, it is stated in the opinion, CIVITAKS Group indicates inconsistencies, vagueness, non-transparency and lack of strategic approach to really enter into tax reforms.

According to CIVITAX, there is a lack of consultation with complete and simultaneously available information for everyone. They point out that the tax changes, some of which imply important changes in the tax system, have not been officially announced, but a presentation that the Ministry of Finance has used in the meetings with the business sector has been circulating in the public.

He believes that a social consensus is needed for larger and more comprehensive taxes. He asks the Government to elaborate on the progress in the fight against the gray economy, in terms of achieved results, before any tax changes can be qualitatively discussed.

As stated in the paragraph, the CIVITAKS Group strongly opposes the intention to introduce contributions to contracts for temporary and occasional work, for several reasons. The current intention to introduce contributions to contracts for temporary and occasional work is a solution that belongs to another time in which both the current ruling party and the then opposition attacked and criticized it. With the current intent to determine contributions to these contracts, the treatment of compensation changes from turnover of services rendered to income from work. This arbitrary and lump-sum change in the legal (and tax) treatment of compensation from contracts for temporary and occasional work is a serious attack on the legal foundations and a flagrant undermining of the rule of law. Without an analysis of who are the people who perform temporary and occasional work, the activity in which they do it, their profile, etc., any solution is doomed in advance to malpractice and, ultimately, impossibility of implementation, explains the CIVITAKS Group.

He says that he does not accept the introduction of compensation contributions from occasional and temporary work and considers the attempt a flagrant undermining of the rule of law. It welcomes the removal of the threshold for non-payment of social contributions on employment income, which, as it points out, has been their request since November 2018.

Welcomes the debate on the progressive tax on personal income, believes that North Macedonia's perspective should aim for a certain progressiveness in the incomes of citizens and companies, but indicates that this debate should be opened much earlier, at least at the beginning of the year, and last, with involvement of stakeholders and civil society, until reaching a fully acceptable solution. At the same time, as they emphasize, insisting on a solution for a progressive income tax in conditions of a multiple crisis, in this period in which countries such as Spain and Poland introduce an additional tax on extra-profitable activities that made such profits during the crisis, is the mildest. said devastatingly for policy makers.

According to the Civitax Group, a social consensus is also needed for the spending of public money. The government, he emphasizes, must work on the efficiency of the expenditure side of the budget, on increased responsibility and accountability, on increasing the criminality of abuse from high corruption and complete confiscation of the state, as elaborated from the beginning of this paragraph. It should also work to reduce its role in the markets to let funds be efficiently allocated by economic operators, reduce the number of regulatory bodies and various first-line budget users who do not perform the function for which they exist and will have to consolidates the scope of the public sector. It must also reduce the state apparatus and increase the efficiency of the public administration to the extent that there must also be dismissals of those who cannot master the necessary skills and knowledge to respond to the needs of citizens.

Founding members of the CIVITAKS Group who, according to the announcement, gave their consent in a short period of time attitude for tax reforms are: Center for Economic Analysis, Finance Think - Institute for Economic Research and Policies, Center for Tax Policy, Institute for Social and Human Sciences, Open Society Foundation - Macedonia, Transparency International - Macedonia, Helsinki Committee for Human Rights of the Republic Macedonia, Eurotink – Institute for European Strategies and the Center for Change Management.