GOVT. PASSES FIRST DECISIONS ON SETTLING WITH 818 DEBTORS

ZAGREB, May 29 (Hina) - The Croatian government on Wednesday passed the first decisions on the settlement of a debt exceeding 65 million kuna (EUR8.78 million) which is owed by 818 debtors for unpaid taxes, contributions, and customs duties. #L# At today's session the government was briefed about the implementation of the Law on the Collection of Unpaid Taxes, Customs Duties, Contributions, and State Guarantees. The government will have to tackle final settlement solutions at almost every next session, given that this issue has to be finished by Aug. 21. Today the government verified the first such decisions for 818 debtors, with EUR2.2 million to be settled through reprogramming, EUR270,270 will be written off, while EUR6.35 million will be paid in a single payment, with discount. This year the state budget expected 2.5 billion kuna (EUR337.84 million) from uncollected claims. Finance Minister Mato Crkvenac said the final sum would be slightly lower than planned due to the smaller cash payments which were made. If other ways of settling debts are added to the cash payments, for example through reprogramming or the cession of real estate, the state could collect more than two billion kunas. The implementation of the Law on the Collection of Unpaid Taxes, Customs Duties, Contributions, and State Guarantees thus far has shown that some institutions, for example the pension and health insurance institutes, do not have the correct claims data and that some data do not match. The decisions the government accepted encourage expanding settlements to include subjects who reported even after the deadline envisaged by law expired. The decisions also suggest refusing to settle with debtors who are being prosecuted for damaging the state budget or another legal or physical person. (hina) ha sb