Jelka Milićević: We have managed to define the directions of activities at the federal level

Partners of the ruling coalition (SDA, SBB, and HDZ BiH) during a two-day meeting, analyzing the preparation of sessions, harmonizing open issues, and proposing certain legal solutions for the Parliament and decisions within the competence of the FBiH Government, have successfully defined the directions of activities regarding current problems at the federal level - stated the Deputy Prime Minister of FBiH and Federal Minister of Finance Jelka Milićević in an interview for Fena .

Among other things, it was concluded at these meetings, says Milićević, that healthcare is a victim of certain activities, namely the single VAT rate, as well as certain exemptions from health insurance contributions.

At the same time, the participants of the meeting, she points out, determined that there are shortcomings in the organization of healthcare institutions themselves, and they clearly stated that resolving issues in the healthcare sector must proceed in two directions.

- One is the restructuring of healthcare. This is a process that will take two to three years and in which we will certainly have the technical assistance of the World Bank - said Milićević.

SDA, SBB, and HDZ BiH agree, according to her, that in the second direction of activity - interventionally - funds must be found to help, for example, the hospital centers in Sarajevo, Tuzla, and Mostar.
In this regard, the meeting participants opened "issues of dedicated revenues, i.e., the possibility of excise taxes and budget support".

- As the executive branch, we stated that this is difficult to achieve within the budget. In addition to the proposed amendments to the law which foresee an increase in excise taxes by 15 percent, intended for highway construction, the Federation has advocated for low excise taxes for healthcare, concerning excise taxes on beer and non-alcoholic carbonated beverages. There is no unified political stance on this, as it is something on which we differ in the Federation, Republika Srpska, and at the level of the Council of Ministers of BiH - stated Milićević, suggesting that this issue must be raised to a higher level.

Speaking about the efforts to reach an agreement on the adoption of amendments to the Law on Games of Chance, Milićević emphasizes that at the meeting she reminded of the facts that the amendments to this law originated from the FBiH Parliament, after which a compromise was reached to make changes within the Government and try to incorporate everything possible from the initiatives proposed in the Federal Parliament.

- We even had a Commission formed, on behalf of the Government and the ministry, which resulted in a proposed legal solution. However, when that proposal came to the Government, it underwent drastic changes - she points out.
The Ministry of Finance distanced itself from such a legal solution.

- We said that if it is the Government's decision, let the amended Law proceed to the parliamentary procedure, and the Ministry cannot be an interpreter of the law, nor did we clarify it in the House of Representatives, nor in the House of Peoples of the FBiH Parliament - she emphasized.

In this way, she points out, the responsibility has now been transferred to those who will adopt the Proposal for Amendments to the Law on Games of Chance, which in her opinion is full of technical shortcomings, which will make "its monitoring difficult".
The Ministry has requested an analysis of the Proposal from international institutions, regarding which, it believes, something is constantly being imputed.

- All our analyses indicate that the current proposal for amendments will not achieve increased revenues, as is being said, but will lead to reduced revenues - claims the Federal Minister of Finance.

She says that the Ministry's proposal was also that the profit tax from games of chance and all registration fees from licenses should be revenue for the Federation's budget.

According to payment points, payments and these winnings are income tax for the place where the games of chance are organized, and it is not true, she points out, that it depends on the headquarters of the betting shops, which are often emphasized as being in areas where Croats live.

- In general, all of this has been too much released to the public and too many sweeping statements are being made. That is why we have requested an independent analysis from international institutions, which we expect in the coming period. We wanted to be outside of all political processes, which is why we did not comment on this issue in the media, in order to calm the situation and to talk realistically without heightened tensions - said Milićević for Fena.