Businesses in the north are not accountable to the state, Kosovo loses thousands of euros

Representatives of businesses for the Mitrovica region say the Kosovo state budget has lost tens of millions of euros over the years from tax evasion in the northern part. While the ATK executives have no record of how much financial losses could be in that part of the non-regular taxpayers.

The director of the Department of Finance Administration at the Kosovo Economic Ode, simultaneously co-ordinator of the Mitrovica Regional Unit, Rrustem Abiti, says of Kosova Prees, that many businesses in the north that operate in illegal forms, except that they don't pay the ATK taxes, respond to Serbia's institutions.

“Dicu from registered businesses answer 50-60 per cent tax payment... There are many businesses that are not registered, I don't know exactly, because the data from that part we don't possess, but certainly there are many businesses that function in illegal forms by responding to Serbia's institutions. This too is a problem in itself, there are businesses that pay double taxes, pay Serbia's institutions, but also Kosovo's ... Some 40 Serbian minority businesses are members of the Kosovo Economic Age... According to some research, millions of euros are losses from tax evasion, and this causes major damage to the functioning of the economy, businesses, functioning state”, says Abiti. ATK Director Ilir Murtezaj tells Kosovo Press, the number of regular businesses from the Serb community in the north is more than a thousand, which according to him, is not a real number. However, Murtezaj has no information about how irregular businesses operate in northern Mitrovica.

“We have no record of how much Kosovo has lost from the north. What I can inform you last year from northern business has been estimated at 1.6m euros. That is about 15 per cent of the amount of taxes collected from the Mitrovica region. Some 11m euros have been collected in the Mitrovica region, of which 1.6m euros have been collected by Serbian community businesses... There are about a thousand and 97 taxpayers in the north who are active and pay, one of them is the biggest taxpayers in the Mitrovica region... we don't have the information about how many businesses they are, of course it should be a number counting a territory of four municipalities there. 1097 businesses are not a real number, but we aim for all taxpayers in that part to bring them under the jurisdiction of the Kosovo laws”, Murtezaj points out.

While, Kosovo Customs spokesman tells Kosovo that different businesses in northern Mitrovica have been caught during smuggling efforts, through mountain roads, from both the north and other parts.

“Dogana works with all businesses in Kosovo, but about 95 percent of businesses are regular, which their imports conduct legally. Normally, we have cases that even various businesses have been caught in the attempt to smuggle north... who try to smuggle amounts of goods through mountain roads, from both the north and other parts of”, Stavileci says. In the last period, Dogana has seized over 20 cases of smuggling to northern Mitrovica, out of them five menus with food goods. Kosovo's team has stayed in the northern part, although business owners in that part have not wanted to talk because of the consequences they may have from their community.