Krešo Vukoja: Despite constant ignoring, we invite the FBiH Government and FMF to cooperate

A few days ago, betting shops from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina wrote to the institutions of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, expressing their disappointment that no one from the FBiH Government and the FBiH Ministry of Finance attended the international conference titled "Taxation in the European Gambling Industry", organized in Sarajevo by the European Organization for Gambling Regulation (EOGL). On this occasion, we spoke with Krešimir Vukoja, director of Premier betting shop.

Mr. Vukoja, the betting shops stated in their letter that they are disappointed by the absence of representatives of the FBiH institutions at the international conference. Why?

The conference was organized by the European Organization for Gambling Regulation, and invitations were sent to the Office of the President of FBiH, the FBiH Government, the Federal Ministry of Finance, the FBiH Tax Administration, the House of Peoples of the FBiH Parliament, the House of Representatives of the FBiH Parliament, and the Association of Cities and Municipalities of FBiH. Of those invited, only representatives from the office of the Speaker of the House of Peoples of the FBiH Parliament, Lidija Bradara, attended, while only the Office of the President of FBiH sent a thank you for the invitation and an apology for not attending due to prior commitments. From the other institutions, no one responded, nor did they deign to reply to the EOGL's invitation. We believe that the representatives of these institutions have thus embarrassed the institutions they represent, the citizens of FBiH, and the employers who employ 5,500 workers in FBiH, before the European Union.

What message does the absence of FBiH institution representatives send you?

Frankly, although we are disappointed, we are not surprised by the absence of representatives from the FBiH Government and the Ministry of Finance. They have thus sent a clear message that they are not at all interested in what experts from the European Union, BiH, and the region have to say about gambling taxation models. This aligns with their behavior since the initiative to amend the Law on Games of Chance in FBiH began, which is their stance of not wanting to listen to domestic organizers, employers who employ 5,500 workers in FBiH, rent 2,600 premises, and contribute over 180 million KM annually directly and indirectly to the FBiH budget.

What is behind such an approach by the FBiH Government and the Federal Ministry of Finance?

We fear that behind all of this lies a plan to destroy domestic companies in order to favor foreign interest lobbies. Since the beginning of 2016, there has been a strong media campaign using inflammatory methods to falsely portray domestic organizers as criminals and mafiosi, while simultaneously, individuals like Ramiz Meša, Omer Škalja, and Amir Zukić, and institutions like the FBiH Government led by Prime Minister Fadil Novalić and the Ministry of Finance led by Minister Jelka Milićević, are pushing for a Law on Games of Chance that taxes domestic betting shops much more than foreign betting shops and slot machines owned by foreign companies. We believe this clearly indicates the real intentions of this FBiH Government and Ministry of Finance.

No one from the Association of Municipalities and Cities was at the conference either, and betting shops have had many problems at the local level recently?

Yes, no one from the Association of Cities and Municipalities of FBiH was at the conference, and they had the opportunity to hear many things that would help them avoid rushing into unconstitutional processes. Let's take the example of Zenica, which, on the initiative of Mayor Fuad Kasumović, increased municipal taxes for betting shops by 1,666.67 percent at the end of 2016, from 3,000 KM to 50,000 KM. This was an unconstitutional move beyond all reason that could cost Zenica millions in damages, as the Constitutional Court of FBiH has declared such decisions unconstitutional in over 100 cases, including three times in Zenica.

What is the status of the procedure regarding the Decision on Municipal Taxes in Zenica?

Eight city councilors do not want to participate in an unconstitutional process that could cost Zenica dearly, which is why they have used their right and submitted requests to the Government of Zenica-Doboj Canton for the initiation of a procedure to assess the constitutionality of the Decision on Municipal Taxes. I repeat that this decision, in its content, does not differ from previous decisions that the Constitutional Court of FBiH has invariably declared unconstitutional, so we expect this to be the case with this Decision in Zenica as well. And this will only cause an avalanche of events, as it will prove that Fuad Kasumović and the city councilors who voted for the Decision acted contrary to the provisions of the Constitution of FBiH and did not respect the previous rulings of the Constitutional Court of FBiH. Precisely because of this, Mayor Kasumović has been uncontrollably attacking everyone around him lately, as he is aware that he could soon be in big trouble due to his actions.

The public debate on the drafting of the Bill on Amendments to the Law on Games of Chance ended on January 26, 2017. What moves do you expect from the FBiH Government and the Ministry of Finance now?

The move by councilors in the Zenica City Council, who submitted requests for an assessment of the constitutionality of the Decision on Municipal Taxes, shows that there are still politicians who do not want to be part of the plan to destroy domestic companies. We hope and believe that there are still such individuals in the FBiH Government and the Ministry of Finance, and we invite them to wake up. The goal of the FBiH Government and the Ministry of Finance should not be to bring foreign companies into the Federation instead of domestic ones, from which only certain politicians will benefit. The goal of the FBiH Government and the Ministry of Finance should be a realistic and quality Law on Games of Chance from which both the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, citizens, and organizers will benefit. And this can only be achieved through cooperation and dialogue with domestic experts and organizers, for which we are, as always, available.

We have provided the institutions of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina that did not respond to the invitation to the conference with a report from the conference, which includes the Consensus that the conference participants agreed upon and in which they proposed seven steps to the FBiH Government to align regulations with European Union regulations.

And now, as always, we invite the FBiH Government and the Ministry of Finance to cooperate, we invite them to form a professional working group that, with a quality economic-financial analysis, will arrive at a Draft Law that will satisfy all parties involved. If they ignore our invitations again, it will be definitive proof that this FBiH Government and Ministry of Finance do not care about 5,500 jobs and 180 million KM in the budget, but are determined to destroy domestic companies for the enrichment of a narrow circle of politicians and to hand over the market to foreigners.