Overview Of Reforms Carried Out In 2020 In 2019, reforms were in full swing, but last year’s Covid-19 crisis gave little room for working on systemic reforms, the focus of institutions was on preserving public health and preventing a potentially dramatic decline in business. In 2020, however, some of NALED’s long standing vital recommendations were implemented.
A
state of emergency was declared already in the first quarter, so the capacities of the public administration were focused on preventing the spread of the virus. Regulation was focused almost exclusively on adopting rules on the movement and gathering of the population and the work of businesses. NALED responded to the social challenges by proposing measures to support businesses, joining the government’s efforts to preserve not only public health but also businesses and jobs. Addressing the challenges of the pandemic, NALED formed the Covid-19 digital platform (www.naled.rs/ covid19) during the first days of the emergency to identify problems and solutions, provide legal assistance,
16 | CorD | NALED | AGENDA 2021
inform businesses and the public and collect donations for the most affected local communities and health facilities. On the declaration of the state of emergency, NALED was the first to introduce a set of 10 priority measures followed by many sector recommendations. Their adoption and the joint activities of the government and business associations successfully helped many to survive the crisis. Serbia’s fall of only one percent of GDP was an exceptional result in Europe, where drops were calculated in double digits. APR business data and the positive net result of RSD 433.5 billion, better by a fifth than the year before, and 43.500 new jobs in companies submitting financial reports confirm this. When sole traders are
added, last year ended with 10,000 businesses more than 2019. 10 PRIORITIES TO SAVE BUSINESS 3 out of 10 of NALED’s priority measures for supporting businesses and preserving jobs were adopted in the first support package by the government: the possibility of deferred payment of taxes and contributions without interest and access to cheap or interest-free loans to provide liquidity and refinance liabilities; a recommendation for direct financial support to businesses; and a moratorium of at least three months on the repayment of loans to banks and all state duties. A recommendation by NALED and other philanthropic organizations on the abolition of VAT
