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In Serbia, according to rough estimates, there are 100,000 self-employed workers, people who have not concluded an employment relationship, but who mostly work sporadically with clients abroad, via the Internet.
Current tax regulations say that taxes of 30 to 80 percent must be collected on each payment, with or without a tax deduction, at least five years ago and with accrued interest.
Everyone’s accumulated obligations are now too great, and some have even reached debt on the value of a small apartment.
The self-employed have remained largely invisible to the tax administration, partly of their own free will, but also partly thanks to taxpayers. Most affirm that they inquired about their obligations at the beginning of their work, but were not recognized by the tax laws. However, the successful “IT people” who earn large sums are not the majority of the freelancers. Day, night, weekend, without regulated rest, sick leave, retirees, unemployed educators, official and unofficial philologists, architects, designer jobs … They teach, translate, write advertising emails, review jobs.
Maria has been teaching English to Chinese for five years. He worked at a national cultural institution for 45,000 dinars a month. With a young son and a home loan, she decided to leave a secure, but less well-paying job.
– For the first two years, I did this on the weekends, but it was getting better and progressing more and more in its scale – explains Marija. – I quit my job. I work day and night. I have to have the best internet, at least two computers, the best cameras, a device that allows me to have electricity for a few more hours for the computers, if it turns off. Just so you know, none of us are stupid enough not to wonder if we should pay for something. We all asked and all were told by the tax authorities and accountants that these laws are old, that no one applies them and that they would not even know how to apply them.
Photo: Depositphotos
Marija adds that she found out about this guy that he was making about 2,000 euros a month, and now he has to pay two million dinars in taxes.
– Who has that money? Well, we all lived on those wages in the meantime. I can’t even calculate, but I’m afraid the amount could be 40,000 euros. I don’t have that money – says Marija.
Working online is also the choice of older people.
She is an economist from Belgrade. She could not wait for the end of her working life at work, she was declared unemployed. With a small pension, in order to make ends meet, he dedicated himself to working on the computer.
– I translate, I do not practice my profession. In these portals, the certificates and diplomas are not important, but the effect, explains our interlocutor. – The translation page in our agencies, for the languages of the region, is six euros. It costs between 12 and 18 euros on the Internet, and Western languages pay twice as much. I lose six percent for transferring money through PayPal. I do not understand why, as in neighboring countries, it is not enough to pay 10% taxes. I have paid the pension contributions. I don’t know why the state punishes me for what I do. That is the only way to cover the cost of the drugs.
MANY FORMULAS AND CALCULATIONS
WORKERS on the Internet must pay their own taxes. Currently, your earnings can only be taxed as foreign income. The tax consultants explained to us that the amount of taxes and contributions depends on the type of income, whether it be from royalties or employment contract, whether you are employed or not. The rates and allowable deduction also differ. By some calculations, when everything is taken into account, liabilities range from 29.5 to 80 percent. In the case of fees, the deduction ranges from 34 to 50 percent. In the case of an employment contract, it is 20 percent.
Jelena of Jagodina neither dreamed nor dreamed of free status. On the contrary, he has been trying to find a job since he graduated. But, in eight and a half years of work experience, he gained only one year of experience. With a degree in Serbian language and literature, she worked part-time at a newspaper as a cleaner. He responded to teacher announcements, but to no avail.
“I’ve exhausted all possibilities,” says Jelena. – I heard from a friend that there is a way to earn money like this. At first, I had between $ 30 and $ 40 a month. Even now, those amounts are not too great, but I can live on it. However, I do not have the opportunity to give half of that money to the state. I can’t even count how much I owe you. I don’t even know how the debts will be collected from me. I am a tenant, I do not have property.
A young mother from Nis has worked for foreign employers for four years. She finished architecture, but today she works as a typist. Designs skyscraper window washing equipment in the United States.
– I started the business for ten dollars, but I found a good client and I try to keep him – says Milena. – More people from Serbia work for him. I asked what my tax obligations were when I started. At the tax office, they said they don’t recognize that way of working and they don’t know how to tax it. The accountant said the same. The only thing that could be done on the principle of income from abroad was 50 percent of the tax, but they considered that it was too much and inadequate.
REQUIREMENTS
The Online Workers Association, which now has just over 3,000 members, is calling on the authorities to negotiate an acceptable solution. With the request to suspend the collection processes in the meantime. They claim that they are willing to pay taxes, but that giving half the salary is too much. Now they await a response from the Government.
He adds that everyone should know that you do not earn the same amount every month, as when you have a salary, but that sometimes it “drops” 100 and, sometimes, 700 dollars. You must live on that income all year round and work all year, on weekends and holidays, and when there are vacations …
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