15th November 2020, Skopje – Informal economy, accounting for around 37% of GDP, may be suppressed only through measures, which will contribute for the risk from operating within the informal economy, to be higher than the yield therefrom, Minister of Finance Fatmir Besimi pointed out at MTV’s 2021 Budget-related debate, whereat Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and economic experts also took part.
-What we would like to achieve, in economic terms, is increasing the opportunity cost of the informal economy, simply put – it means that the informal economy -related risk should be greater than the yield therefrom. The measures will provide for reducing the yield from operating in the informal economy, and simplifying the operations in the formal economy. Strengthened controls will provide for building awareness that there may be much more losses than gains therefrom- Besimi said.
As measures aimed at reducing the informal economy, Besimi indicated the digitalization, coupled by the measures which will contribute to strengthening the tax awareness and stimulating taxpayers to meet their obligations, engaging the entities in the formal economy, as well as the enhanced controls.
