SRPSKA INSTITUTIONS READY TO IMPLEMENT VAT REFUND ON FIRST PROPERTY

BANJA LUKA, MAY 6 /SRNA/ – The Minister of Finance of Republika Srpska Zora Vidović has stated today in Banja Luka that institutions in Republika Srpska are fully ready to implement procedures related to the refund of VAT on the first property.

"This initiative was launched more than a year ago by Milorad Dodik and it is not normal that it has taken this long. We truly do not want to wait any longer, and I agree that the regulation on VAT refunds for the first property should be put into procedure," Vidović said at a press conference.

She stated that real estate prices are still rising today, especially as inflation is also expected to increase, and that VAT refunds are one of the measures to ease conditions for those who want to solve their housing needs and remain in Republika Srpska.

"This will cost Republika Srpska BAM several tens of millions, but that is not a problem. We will have lower budget inflows, but this is a greater benefit for young people than a loss for the budget," Vidović said, who is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH.

She reminded that the Government of Republika Srpska has approved the Investment and Development Bank of Srpska to directly issue housing loans, which also means lower interest rates compared to loans provided through commercial banks.

"We also have another benefit, which is the subsidization of housing loans, which we have been implementing for years," Vidović noted.

She added that anyone who is against the right to VAT refund on the first property is certainly not thinking positively about the lives of young people in BiH.