The newspaper said the list, "at least, is the hope of the Croatian inland revenue" and that it was published "to the consternation of some, and the delight of many" as well as that it included "construction giants, high-profile business personalities, humble craftsmen and rock stars who ... owe the state some 52bn kuna (€6.9bn) in total."
"With Croatia set to enter the EU in less than a year, and desperate to shore up state finances, it's clear that reform of the tax collection system is long-overdue," said the Financial Times.
It quoted Nada Cavlovic Smiljanec, head of the Croatian tax office since the ruling centre-left coalition took power last December, as blaming "the former government of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) for the fiasco" and excusing the tax office staff.
"These (tax debtors) were very close to the former Government, which allowed them to avoid their tax obligations, while at the same time, these entrepreneurs ... were conducting lucrative business operations with the state," she was quoted as saying.
But the accusations led to a flurry of counter claims, with both the Tempo construction company and the HRT public broadcaster, which top the list, saying they are in legal dispute with the tax office and insisting the sums "are greatly exaggerated," the newspaper said, adding that "many companies and individuals argue that they are behind with payments because state-owned institutions have failed to pay their invoices."
The newspaper said that in Croatia "entrepreneurs say they face a barrage of costly, and time-consuming red tape" and that "in a country facing economic stagnation this year, and with unemployment at 18 per cent, visits by tax inspectors keen to meet targets set by civil servants who have never worked in the private sector is the last thing the economy needs."
The paper said that "honest businesses suffering cash-flow problems are likely to suffer from over-zealous inspectors applying the letter, rather than the spirit of the law."