May 28 (SeeNews) - Croatian finance minister Zdravko Maric said that tax revenue to the state budget halved year-on-year in May, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
As of May 26, VAT revenue for the month was negative in absolute terms, meaning that VAT refunds to tax payers have been higher than VAT inflow into the budget, Maric said in a statement on Wednesday.
Contributions to the state budget also declined in May, dropping by 25% on the year.
The value of fiscal receipts was down by an annual 18% in May, with fiscal receipts issued by Croatia's catering industry plunging by 60% on an annual comparison basis, despite the opening of outdoor cafes and restaurants in the second half of the month, Maric said.
At the same time, the value of fiscal receipts issued by retailers was unchanged compared with May 2019.
Tourism minister Gari Cappelli said last week that the tourism sector is expected to generate only a third of last year's revenue in 2020, or some 4 billion euro ($4.4 billion), considering the Covid-19 impact.
Cappelli has said that May "has been completely lost" in terms of tourist reservations, as well as the bigger part of June, while most of the reservations for July, August and September are still open.
Tourism makes up more than 20% of Croatia's GDP, which is expected to contract by close to 10% this year as a result of the pandemic.
($=0.905906 euro)