Russians and Ukrainians have a positive effect on strengthening the revenue part of the budget of Montenegro
Ministry of Finance reportedthat the growth in private consumption and the results achieved in tourism led to a significant increase in revenue collected by the state on the basis of VAT, which in the period from January to September was up by 171,6 million euros, or 34,8% compared to the same period in 2021 , i.e. 127,7 million euros or 23,8% compared to planned revenues.
“If we keep in mind that overall economic growth is driven, among other things, by domestic demand, private consumption and investment, it becomes clear that the increase in the presence of foreign citizens is a positive signal for strengthening the revenue side of the budget,” the ministry notes.
The Interior Ministry recently announced that temporary or permanent residence in Montenegro approved a little more 13 Russian citizens, Ukrainians almost 11 people.
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, as of the end of February, 90 Russian citizens and 112 Ukrainians have applied for a stay of up to 755 days in Montenegro.
“From the beginning of the war in Ukraine, from February 24 to October 10 of this year, 119 citizens of the Russian Federation entered Montenegro, while 619 people were registered at the exit,” the Ministry of Internal Affairs said.
The Ministry of Finance emphasizes that we are witnessing that, despite the crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, the Montenegrin economy is recovering strongly compared to pre-pandemic levels and is experiencing dynamic growth, which in the second quarter of the year amounted to 12,7%, which makes it officially the most high in Europe. According to them, growth above expectations, along with favorable macroeconomic indicators, is positively assessed by the relevant international organizations, which have revised their growth forecasts for Montenegro upward for the current year.
“In addition to the significant increase in imports and recorded inflation during this period, there is no doubt that the increase in the number of foreign citizens who received a residence permit in Montenegro due to the war in Ukraine, due to increased private consumption, also contributed to higher incomes. Thus, it is clear that the increase in the influx of foreign citizens caused by the war in Ukraine contributed to positive trends and, according to the Government, primarily reflected stronger private consumption and positive results in tourism, trade and related activities, since they have been mentioned, individuals have transferred their capital to our country and are gradually starting a private business and expressing interest in further investments. Additional benefits can be expected in the coming period in terms of creating new jobs and increasing revenues for all categories of taxes,” the ministry said in a response.
Highly appreciating the great interest and seriousness in the work of newly formed companies, the Government and the Ministry of Finance are developing a set of measures that, in various areas, create conditions for facilitating the civil and labor legal status of residents in order to provide them with optimal conditions for life and work, which would simultaneously create new values , both for their business and for the overall economic picture of Montenegro.
“The confirmation that such measures are producing results is precisely the increase in the number of foreign citizens who start and successfully develop their business in the business environment of Montenegro. Therefore, the strong influx of non-residents is also affected by the strong growth in newly established companies, which, according to unofficial data, is more than 40% higher than last year, with a large percentage of companies founded by foreign citizens,” the ministry said.
“The type of activity of newly created companies, a large number of which belong to the IT sector, is also encouraging, which could potentially affect the restructuring of the Montenegrin economy and a faster transition to a highly competitive economy and stimulate digitalization trends in the private sector. In addition, the financial impact of the influx of non-residents is expressed in increased activity in the real estate market, strong inflow of foreign direct investment and the expansion of the banking sector due to strengthening domestic demand. So far, trends in 2022 show that the risks of the impact of the war in Ukraine on Montenegro in the short term have been mitigated, and the outlook for the next period remains highly uncertain due to further challenges of the geopolitical situation, which, combined with domestic factors, could slow down the planned economic growth.” , — noted in the Ministry of Finance.
Russians and Ukrainians founded more than 1200 companies.
The Tax and Customs Administration reported that from February 1 to June 9, 1100 companies were registered in Montenegro, the founders of which were individuals from Russia. Of these, 229 companies are engaged in computer programming, 81 companies are engaged in data processing, application hosting and application services. In third place are consulting activities related to business and other management (65 companies) and consulting activities in the field of information technology (63 companies).
During the same period, 104 companies were registered and founded by individuals from Ukraine, the most represented type of activity is computer programming, which is carried out by 13 of these companies.
According to these data, for citizens of both countries affected by the horrors of war, Montenegro leads the entire region of the Western Balkans.
