Commenting on the increase in electricity prices, energy expert Miodrag Kapor said for Euronews Serbia that due to the current irrational management of resources and the situation in EPS, this was necessary a long time ago, as well as the reorganization of this company.
"Increasing prices was necessary a long time ago. No one likes that, but it has long been a social category and still is. We still pay the cheapest price for electricity. Not because we are far more productive than the rest of Europe, but because of the politics of this country. Therefore, that subsidized price is paid by all citizens. They spent it more or less. We manage our resources unprofitably and irrationally, and now we have come to a situation where the IMF told us that, due to the situation in the EPS and the losses, we simply have to do it, because otherwise the consequences will be much worse for the citizens," he said. is Kapor.
It is paid even when it is not spent
Even when all their devices are turned off, citizens pay the electricity bill. Tariffs for "guaranteed supplier's cost" and "calculating power" are paid every month, regardless of whether there was electricity consumption at the metering point or not.
What's more, the bill for consumers is even higher because VAT is calculated on the excise tax of 7,5 percent on electricity, so in this case, tax is paid on tax.
Director of the FEFA Institute, Goran Radosavljević, says that everything is according to the law.
"The law stipulates that VAT must be paid on the price that includes other taxes or levies (excise duties, fees, etc.). This is the rule in all countries that have value added tax as a form of consumption tax," he explained to “Politics”.
Although paying value added tax on excise duty is absurd because there is no added value in the tax, this rule is established and no one questions it anymore, he emphasizes.
"The reason is simple. The state thus collects much higher revenues. By the way, the excise tax long ago ceased to be a form of tax aimed at reducing negative externalities, but instead became a means of filling the budget. This is especially characteristic of medium and less developed countries where indirect taxes (primarily excise taxes and VAT) are dominant," Radosavljević pointed out at the time.
In addition to all that, the electricity bill also includes a subscription to RTS.
Apart from electricity, gas is 10 percent more expensive as of today.
BG/Euronews Serbia/Politika
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