Better tax policy to facilitate access to alternative sources of income
All barriers to setting up alternative investment funds in Serbia removed. The first VC funds are soon to come.
The online conference - Tax Incentives for Investments in Alternative Investment Funds in Serbia" was held on Thursday, May 13, in the organisation of two USAID projects - Serbia Innovates and Cooperation for Growth. The conference hosted two panels attended by eminent experts from the country's private and public sectors.
The expert opinion is that an overall tax treatment is established to give rise to alternative sources of funding (ASF) in our economy. However, for more serious development of this market, the foreign funds are required to enter the capital market of Serbia. A precondition for this is the development of domestic funds, both in terms of fiscal benefits and in terms of institutions.
In addition to the detailed regulatory framework, an overall taxation regime has been introduced in these areas in order to enable the operation of funds and encourage the circulation of digital assets in the Serbian economy. In addition to tax treatments, incentives have been introduced for investing digital assets in the Serbian economy, as well as for investments through ASFs.
The first VC funds in 2021 or 2022.
The regulatory framework for setting up venture capital (VC) funds is aligned with the European standards and directives and investors are granted additional security through a number of institutions that control the operation of VC funds. It is expected to remove the barriers in the coming period and thus enable legal entities to invest in VC funds as regulated by the National Bank of Serbia (pension funds, insurance and banks). Tax incentives will be provided for all of them.
The strategy to boost startup ecosystem will include a range of measures to support formation of VC funds, with the state fund as the most important one. The first funds are expected this or next year.
