13. 06. 2011

Less taxes for print media

The Draft Media Strategy on public debate until the end of June

Belgrade, June 13, 2011 (Danas) - Given that Serbia does not produce any of the equipment and materials necessary for the operations of print media, such as printing presses, paper, paints and films, the state should consider the possibility to relieve the import of these goods, according to a Draft Media Strategy, currently open to public debate. In order to stimulate the development of print media and help to better overcome the crisis, the possibility of a significant reduction of VAT on their sales is provided.

The Draft Media Strategy suggests that "the state should provide, with consistent implementation of legal provisions, non-discriminatory conditions for the allocation of revenues from advertising in the media and the implementation of regulations that limit advertising in the electronic media".

Jelena Surculija, one of the members of the working group that wrote this document, emphasize for daily Danas that the print media from all around the world are currently going through crisis and that additional benefits for print media are already been foreseen in many countries, as well as positive discrimination in advertising to help this type of media to survive on the market.

"Many countries in the EU are already negotiating to further reduce the VAT rate on the press, while some countries find it necessary to complete abolish this tax. This is not, however, realistic to expect in Serbia, but the country should consider introducing certain privileges for the print media. It is crucial that the print media in Serbia are truly in a crisis and that it is necessary to pay particular attention to their working conditions while writing new legislation related to media" Surculija explains.

The Draft Strategy stipulates that the Advertising Law should impose the measures of positive discrimination in favor of the print media, namely to provide certain benefits to advertisers. The Draft Strategy also provides the consistent implementation of existing regulations for advertising in electronic media, as a measure to deal with the problem of decreasing revenue from advertising in the press.

Restrictions for advertizing on RTS

The Draft Media Strategy emphasizes the fee as the basic form of financing of public broadcasting service, but also foresees the possibility of commercial revenues. As stated in the document, "it is necessary to ensure the increase in revenues from fee collection with legal solutions and better organization of that work". The state should also enforce the legal provisions on charging the fee for radio receivers in the vehicles. It is planned to consider the possibility for more restrictions on advertising on the public service broadcasters, when revenues from the fee reach a sufficient level for achieving its fundamental functions.