April 1 (SeeNews) - Serbia's government has introduced a 5.1 billion euro ($5.6 billion) financial package in support of the economy, or 50% of the state budget for 2020, finance minister Sinisa Mali has said.
A one-off payment of 100 euro to every Serbian citizen older than 18, Mali said in a video file posted on the YouTube channel of news agency Tanjug on Tuesday.
"We are also introducing a 2 billion euro guarantee scheme. These are loans that will be backed by the state and the banks will not have a big risk. They will be taken by entrepreneurs for liquidity and working capital," the finance minister noted.
The government will pay the minimum monthly salary to every employee of a micro, small and medium-sized enterprise in Serbia for a period of three months, Mali said. "This measure covers more than 900,000 people who have been hit the hardest and it will amount to 97.3 billion dinars."
Moreover, the payment of payroll taxes and contributions will be deferred during the period of the state of emergency in Serbia, while the payment of corporate income tax for the second quarter will also be delayed, Mali noted.
"The package of measures has two goals -- maintaining employment levels and helping the most affected companies, primarily entrepreneurs, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in the private sector," he added.
Last week, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said Serbia will provide up to 4.5 billion euro in support of the business.
Serbia has so far confirmed 900 coronavirus cases and three deaths related to the disease in the country. Health minister Zlatibor Loncar announced on March 6 the first case of the coronavirus infection.
($ = 0.913533 euro)