Today, on May 28th, is the Tax Freedom Day in Serbia. Starting today, Serbian citizens stop working for the government and start working for themselves and their families.
Tax Freedom Day is calculated by the share of public spending in the GDP of a country. The share of public spending is multiplied by the number of days in the year.
In Serbia, the Tax Freedom Day is usually between the end of May and the first part of Jun. The earliest Tax Freedom Day was on May 25th, in 2005. and the latest Tax Freedom Day date was Jun 14th, in 2012.
Tax Calculator for Serbian Taxpayers
To celebrate the Tax Freedom Day and empower the citizens of Serbia to learn more about how much tax they pay, Libek has launched the MojPorez (MyTax) calculator on the website of its media outlet Talas.rs. By answering only few simple questions anonymously, taxpayers in Serbia can calculate their personal Tax Freedom Day.
The platform shows users how much money they give to the government each year, but also how government spends this money. This way, the otherwise hidden cost of government and the confusing definitions used to justify it are presented to citizens in clear and transparent way. With this information, citizens can be more critical of public spending and more empowered to keep the decision makers accountable.
The MojPorez platform was developed in cooperation with the Lithuanian Free Market Institute, who developed the technology, the Zašto Ne and the Center for Policy and Governance from Bosnia and Herzegovina who implemented the solution in their own country and the Center for International Private Enterprise who supported the project.
When do other countries celebrate the Tax Freedom Day?
Tax Freedom Day is celebrated on different days in the Balkans. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Montenegro have their Tax Freedom Day in Jun, and Romania and Bulgaria celebrate it in May. The earliest Tax Freedom Day in the region is in Albania, where it takes place on April 17th.
In recent years, Serbia has managed to reach macroeconomic stability, but the wasteful public spending remains one of the top challenges for development of the country. The wasteful spending is mostly the result of corruption, poor rule of law and the lack of reform of some of the key areas of public administration – state employment through political party connections, excessive procurements in certain areas, the bankrupt pension system, subsidies for private investors and other fields.