Tax Reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia and Montenegro: Progress and Problems

This paper looks at tax reform in two of the Yugoslav successor states: Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Serbia and Montenegro. These two countries have proved to be the most problematic of the former-Yugoslav countries for different reasons. Serious reform began in 1996 in BiH, after the war, but only in 2001 in Serbia. Along with the inherited Yugoslav system in both, the decentralized structure of post-war BiH and the existence of so many levels of government have made tax reform more difficult. The almost continuous difficulties in the ruling coalitions in Serbia have slowed economic and tax reform there. Montenegro has had more stable government since 1998 and has made the most progress by introducing an EU-compatible tax system with a VAT and global income tax in 2002-3. The goal of EU membership has played a positive role in gaining consensus to move towards modern tax systems in both countries, although there is still much to be done