BUSINESS ECONOMY POLITICS

Three Quarters of Employers to Pay Higher Christmas Bonuses

November 27, 2018
Boban Spasojević

Nearly three quarters of Croatian employers will pay higher Christmas bonuses to their employees based on new rules on non-taxable receipts which are due to come into force on December 1.

Last week, the HUP ( The Croatian Employers’ Association) gathered information from 200 companies regarding the increase in non-taxable receipts for bonuses, showing that 74 percent of employers would increase the bonus amount for this year.

Given that some of the companies had defined their financial plans for the current year last year, 26 percent of employers said they would not be able to pay higher bonuses than planned.

Such moves by the government are welcomed by the business community. Although this measure will not help reduce costs to any larger extent, most employers are ready to take this opportunity to reward their employees. That’s why we want to encourage and support the government in all proposals that will lead to further alleviation of the burden on businesses, HUP director-general Davor Majetić said.

The proposed amendments to income tax rules, under which the maximum annual amount of non-taxable receipts for workers would be increased from 2,500 to 7,500 kuna (from 340 to 1,000 euro), have been under public consultation until today, and the amended rules are to take effect on December 1.

Finance Minister Zdravko Marić said that the amendments gave employers the opportunity to reward their employees with a Christmas bonus or a 13th wage.