User:PajaBG/Siniša Mali - minister

Appointment

On 29 May 2018, Mali was elected in the Serbian Assembly as the new finance minister in the Serbian government. Prime minister Ana Brnabić, Mali's school friend and longtime business collaborator, proposed him and explained why he is the good choice for the office. Her elaboration was described as arrogant, full of false statements, half-truths and spins, while some reports called it outright "15 lies in 15 minutes".

2018

National average salary and pension

President Vučić continuously claimed that the national average salaries (NAS) in the period before he formed the government were lower than they were. When Vučić formed the government in April 2014, according to the official data, the NAS was a bit below €400 monthly. However, he claimed that it was €356 and then constantly reduced the number in the further interviews: €346, €340 and €336. After taking over, Mali adopted the same manner, only he was doing that with the later data, from the Vučić's period. In August 2018, he said that the NAS was €426 in May 2018, while in May 2017, a year before, it was €318. Even though the official state papers show that the NAS in May 2017 was €384, Mali continued to use the 318 number in numerous interviews. The last time NAS was that low was March 2007, 11 years ago.

In September 2018, Mali negotiated with the trade unions and employers the lifting of the minimal wage from 144 dinars per hour (€1.21) to 155 dinars (€1.30), starting from 2019. He stated that we breached the "psychological barrier" of 27.000 dinars (€227) per month. Journalist Slobodan Georgiev noted that such amount of money, Mali spends on food in a day.

In November 2018, Mali announced that the government will decrease the level of taxes paid by the employers on their workers' salaries. In the end, it turned out that the reduction is only 0.75%, but Mali described it as "historic decision, one we were waiting for decades".

In the wake of the impending electoral campaign for the 2020 parliamentary elections...

Mali also said in February 2020, that the average monthly pension in Serbia will be €430-440 in 2025 which means they are to be doubled since at the time of his statement, the average was €230. From 2014 to 2019, when pensions were partially reduced, frozen and then arbitrary enlarged, their real value actually was 1,8% down.

Hanging on Terazije

In July 2015, after the botched reconstruction of the Vojvode Stepe Street, then mayor Mali stated: "We are now preparing the reconstruction of the Slavija Square and if we do it wrong, you have the right to hang me on Terazije". Nevertheless, the reconstruction of Slavija Square turned out to be another botched and poorly done project, which dragged on, but Mali wasn't hanged. In September 2018, now as a minister, Mali said to the members of the American Economic Chamber: "In the last three years the tax regulations were always adopted in November or December, by the fast track procedure. We will present all the changes in the law, if it is possible, in September. If I make a mistake, hang me on Terazije, but we will not follow this procedure anymore. I know how much problems it causes to you".

Golden Age

Since 2016, prime minister and later president Vučić, began announcing the golden age of Serbia. In November 2016 he announced that the next five years will the Golden Age of Serbia. In May 2017 he said: "I am satisfied with the work, labors and efforts, but a better times are coming. I call them the Golden Age". In May 2018, he said that, if the stability is preserved, Serbia will experience a Golden Age from 2018 to 2022 and we will "have more money than ever before". Upon taking over as the finance minister, Mali adopted the same rhetoric. In September 2018 he said that Serbia is advancing towards the Golden Age or that the pensions will be higher than ever.

The economists doubt the accuracy of the official data, the planned numbers and the conclusions and descriptions of the economic status of Serbia presented by Mali and the government in general, usually mocking the "Golden Age" term. The official statements by Mali in general have been described as "populist statements" and "incorrect assertions".

2019

Money laundering

In July 2019, Mali was appointed the head of the governmental body for battling money laundering and terrorism financing. The criminal and economic reporters expressed concerns regarding his credibility to be on such post given the suspicions on his personal involvement in the money laundering or hiding his properties.

State auditing

In October 2019, the State Audit Institution (DRI) published its findings regarding the Finance Ministry in 2018. They concluded that the ministry irregularly used 28.4 billion dinars (€241 million). Recorded in other documents, the ministry's balance sheet didn't show this money at all, though it included both income and spending. The ministry also didn't report 4.5 billion dinars (€38 million) spent on non-financial acquisitions, while the reported amount for the same purposes was overblown by 3.7 billion dinars (€31.5 million), reporting 95 unrealized projects as finished. The DRI reported other irregularities: income of 16.9 billion dinars (€143 million), spending of 821.6 million dinars (€7 million) and claims of 1.8 billion dinars (€15 million) were not reported, while the reported claims were overblown by 23.9 billion dinars (€202.5 million). Missing from the report were money assets, noble metals and securities worth 18.9 million dinars (€160.000) and state capital in domestic companies worth 1.2 million dinars (€10.000). The Institute reported different management of certain financial areas from the legitimate: miss-reported 2.1 billion dinars (€18 million) of the sold commodity strategic reserves and lack of the donations report. The DRI concluded that it can't compile the report on the balance sheet of the state's 2018 budget, as the balance sheet wasn't made in concordance with the consolidation principles and lacks needed information. They also stated that they are not able to confirm the structure and value of the non-financial assets of the state, as the available reports are incomplete.

Export numbers

In October 2019, Mali was describing growth of the state export in the Serbian parliament. While he was reading the results, he was pronouncing ridiculously wrong numbers, hitting it right only with the last number, but missing the currency: "In 2012, 8 thousand 738 billions, now lets go to 2013, export is 11 thousand billions, in 2014 11 thousand 200 million billions, in 2015 12 thousand 38 billions, in 2016 13 thousand 432 million, in 2017 15 thousand billions, in 2018 16.3 billion dinars". Correct numbers, in billions, and in euros, are: 8.738, 11, 11.2, 12.038, 13.432 and 16.3.

Transportation fees taxation

According to law, employers can pay monthly transportation fees to the workers, which are tax free. In Belgrade, it amounts to 3,200 dinars (€27). In February 2019 Mali issued an opinion that the employees must provide bills and tickets to justify these expenses or the amount will be taxed by 20%. Jurists pointed out that none of the tree laws on the matter requires this and that opinion of the ministry does not trump the law. Based on the same law, Mali's predecessor minister Dušan Vujović issued opinions in 2015 and 2016 that this is not required. Trade unions reminded that the Supreme Court of Cassation also previously confirmed that the very presence of an employee at his workplace (which can be confirmed or supported by various company records) is proof that the employee actually traveled somehow to his workplace, with the union representatives reminding Mali that teleportation is still not invented.

This is also in collision with the government's proclaimed goals, some of the main even, of progressive digitalization, gradual lifting of the non-taxed part of the income and reduction of administrative burdening of the business. Only in state's jurisdiction, it would take at least 19,000 papers monthly, or 228,000 yearly to be kept, if each employee brings only one paper. Estimates show that a company with 1,500 employees will now have additional 2.3 million dinars (€195.000) of expenses. Other pointed out to the impossibility of providing bills and tickets for those who use bicycles or walk. Mali said they shouldn't be paid at all.

It was pointed out that such actions elevate the legal insecurity in the economy. Since deputy mayor of Belgrade, Goran Vesić, asked for this opinion and then added that this is a way to raise the number of sold tickets in city transportation, this was seen as another ploy to enlarge the revenues of the controversial "Bus Plus" project for selling tickets in the city. Vesić also agreed with Mali that those who use bicycles or walk to work can "forget about the transportation fee", however the office of Ombudsman judged these claims as illegal, since the law claims every worker has the right to this fee. Ombudsman Zoran Pašalić added that, if there is a problem, it must not be solved to harm the employees.

Despite constant reminder that the opinion is against the law, even by the pro-government media, and asking for change of the intention by the pro-government organizations, Mali pushed the issue and from February 2020 the employees had to bring papers to prove that they are actually at their workplaces. Some legal experts suggested to the employers not to follow Mali's opinion and to wait to be sued by the government, as ministry's opinion is not legally binding, and in this case is illegal anyway, and all those processes will be dismissed at courts.

2020

Lottery games

In February 2020, Siniša Mali presented new Law on Lottery Games. According to the previous one, out of the income which was to be forwarded into the state budget, 40% was intended for the social causes. Red Cross of Serbia (which made majority of association's income) and four other organizations (invalids, social protection, sports and youth, local self-administration), received 19% of those 40% each, while the remaining 5% went to the fund for the rare diseases. From the new law all of this was removed and all of the money went straight to the state budget. Mali defended this by saying: "This way, we will directly create conditions for reducing the grey economy, enlarge budgetary income and advance legal frame for the prevention against the money laundering and financing of the terrorism". After public backlash, members of Mali's party in the parliament amended the law, by returning the provision, though they all claimed that the social care association will be funded "from now", even though this was also provided by the previous law, with Mali now claiming that the new law "lifts the social responsibility of the lottery organizers".

In July 2023, talking at Pink TV, Mali claimed that from 2008 to 2012, "there was no economic crisis anywhere".

In August 2023 he was ridiculed by the economist and vice-president of the Party of Freedom and Justice Dušan Nikezić when Mali claimed that the GDP will grow by 2,3% in 2021–2022 (from €53.3,3 billion to €60 billion, not €54.5 which would be mathematically correct) and by 2% in 2022–2023 (to €70 billion, instead of €55.6 billion). Mali explained that the difference comes from GDP deflator, meaning that the inflation will be calculated in and added to the final GDP number. This way, the higher the inflation, the higher the GDP. With de-facto fixed exchange rate of Serbian dinar to euro, this way the GDP grew by 31% from 2020 to 2022, though the real growth was only 9%, and as this respectively enlarges taxes, the state budget appears as growing. Without GDP deflation from 2020 onwards, the GDP in 2022 would be even lower, €50 billion.