Dodik demands distribution of 262 million BAM from the BIH Indirect Taxation Authority account: Amidžić obstructs adoption of the 2024 Budget

(Patria) - As of today, the account of the Indirect Taxation Authority of Bosnia and Herzegovina holds 262 million BAM from special tolls, intended exclusively for the construction of new highways.

The Management Board of the BIH ITA attempted to hold a session on March 21 to distribute these funds, but the Federal Minister of Finance, Toni Kraljević (HDZ BiH), did not attend the session. According to information from Patria, a new session of the ITA Management Board has not yet been scheduled.

On Monday, a meeting was held of the presidents of political parties that make up the government at the state level, and in his address to the media, the President of SNSD and the RS, Milorad Dodik, said that the budget of the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina has still not been resolved.

"The budget has not been realized because some things need to be resolved. They were agreed upon earlier but have not been resolved," said Dodik.

He was referring precisely to the distribution of funds from the ITA account, as well as from the account of the Communications Regulatory Agency (RAK).

Although these two matters should not be tied to the adoption of the Budget, it is clear that SNSD will not support the Budget, or Minister Srđan Amidžić (SNSD) will obstruct its submission to the procedure of the state budget until the millions of marks from the accounts of these two institutions are distributed.

It is no secret that the RS is in financial trouble, and for this reason, Dodik insists on the distribution of these funds.

On Monday, he said that partners from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina had an obligation to resolve some matters for the budget. Earlier, he emphasized that there is a political agreement that the RS should receive 36 percent of the collected funds.

For the money from the special account of the BIH ITA from special tolls to be distributed, both entity ministers and the state minister of finance must vote for that decision. However, Kraljević believes that a proper distribution has not been made and does not want to vote for a decision that would be detrimental to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.