The impact of the tax system reform on business in the Republic of Serbia

Abstract

The subject of the paper is the reform of the tax system and its impact on the business of taxpayers. The authors conducted an analysis to determine whether tax policy reform measures boost employment, stimulate the population to start their own businesses, and reduce the informal economy by reducing the amount and number of state and local levies. The research was done in the Republic of Serbia by the survey method. Statistical testing of the collected data was done with a software program developed for the purposes of this research in the SPSS software package. The data were processed by the statistical method of analysis of variance ANOVA and the Levene?s test on the homogeneity of variance was performed. In order to draw reliable conclusions, the research also includes official data on changes in value added tax and income tax, as well as changes in Pension and Disability Insurance Contributions, for the taxpayers of the Republic of Serbia, in the total amount and by its components. The hypothesis ?Reform measures of tax policy stimulate the population to start their own business and legal business, which leads to a decrease in unemployment and an increase in the budget? has been confirmed on the basis of this research. It can be concluded that tax policy reform measures stimulate the population to start a private business and legal business, which leads to a decrease in unemployment and to an increase in the budget. The existence of a fairly large volume of tax evasion produce consequences that can be serious for the economy of the Republic Serbia. Reform measures have significantly reduced tax evasion as well as contributed to the reduction of undeclared work and the increase of funds in the budget. Survey respondents confirmed that the stimulative tax policy strengthens private sector, and thereby reduce the gray economy and increase the funds in the budget. The full effect of the reform measures is expected after the complete transition of taxpayersto e-business, which would provide a complete insight into the state and opportunities of the public sector. We can conclude that incentives from the state in the form of tax exemptions and contributions for newly employed workers have given significant results in terms of starting enterprise and hiring new workers. Activities to detect and combat tax evasion and reform the tax system can only be effective if they are planned and based on scientific researches and advances.