We should bear in mind that in no country of the former Yugoslavia has the dismantling of the payment bureaux been carried out within such a short timeframe. The benefits are already to be seen with the arrival of several foreign banks. Important banking legislation relevant across both entities is now in place. Work continues on a number of laws which are important for the functioning of both the tax administration and the commercial banks. The State Treasury has been established and is functioning, but has yet to reach full capacity.
Tax reform is under way.
We have pushed the tax harmonisation between entities and most of the major discrepancies have by now at least been reduced. In parallel, the fight against tax evasion has been intensified. An Advisory Group on taxation has been established with a view to propose and implement tax reform. The new system will have to be more efficient, reduce the incentive for fraud and the grey economy and provide resources for both levels of administration. Other economic legislation that is required before the end of the year includes laws regulating the establishment of a State Institute of Statistics, a law regulating job placement, amendments to the State Law on Customs, a Law on a BiH Foreign Trade Chamber of Commerce, Law on Land Registry, and Concession legislation.