Experts and businessmen optimistic, VMRO-DPMNE will put economy back on right track. An ambitious and serious program that can be accomplished and does not look like a wish list, analyzes news portal Republika.
These are some of the comments of economy experts on the VMRO-DPMNE program in the forthcoming early parliamentary elections in the area of economic policy, which was presented Saturday by leader Hristijan Mickoski.
In the program, he announced higher salaries for citizens by 25 percent, increased pensions by 20 percent, i.e. more than 3,000 denars, more investments, announced a flat tax that would drop to 8 percent, drastically reduced unemployment below 10 percent, and income tax exemption for employment of young people up to 29 years old.
Economists say if there is a solid economy, salaries can rise at this pace. Goran Rafajlovski in a statement for Republika says that this increase is realistically achievable for one term.
If there is a 5% pay rise every year, for example, it will turn around the inflation, but on the other hand there will be a serious increase in consumption. The increase in salaries should be in both the administration and the private sector, and that will mean boosting the general economy during one term. Short-term will be bad for business, but long-term will be extremely positive, as it will increase consumption, says Goran Rafajlovski.
The VMRO-DPMNE leader announced that the program envisions the complete abandonment of the concept of progressive tax and the introduction of a flat tax of up to 8 percent.
We will start from 10%, of which 1% will be reduced in the first 100 days, which means flat tax from 10% to 9%, and within two years we will reach 8% for an additional 1%, Mickoski said.
Regarding the reduction of the flat tax, Rafajlovski says that the change from flat to progressive tax has done huge damage to the Macedonian economy because it was hasty and reckless, and the consequences will be felt in the future because of many IT- companies have moved out of Macedonia. And in Western European countries, he says, there is no one who is not trying to hide progressive tax levies and that is why flat tax policy is better. For further reduction, he emphasized that serious calculations should be made in the Budget.
He says any future government should also deal with problems like the gray economy and lack of workforce.
-With the gray economy everyone loses. Those who do not pay taxes destroy the other businesses and in the end everyone loses. School is needed for both taxpayers and non-taxpayers, and you have 40% of the business that does not pay the state and education is needed for that too, Rafajlovski says.
Regarding the workforce, he says that soon we will have to import because Macedonia is facing enormous migration.
– I do not agree with the data that the unemployment rate is 17%, I think it is much lower, says Rafajlovski, who emphasized that a census should be implemented as soon as possible and based on the data a strategy for education and business should be built. A lot of work awaits us if we want to preserve the state, Mickoski concludes.
