Student List Economic Plan: Tax-Free Pay to 35%, Review of Expo Laws

The student movement behind the Student List, which won 140 of the 250 seats in Serbia's 25 October parliamentary election, on Saturday, 14 November, published its programme for the economy and public finances. The document, posted on X and reported by Danas, N1 and 021, promises to support domestic production and stable jobs rather than "privileged" and politically connected groups, to publish every public contract in full and to keep the dinar's exchange rate stable. It is a set of proposals, not law: the new government has not yet been formed and the new parliament meets for the first time on 17 November.

Income tax: more brackets, a larger tax-free part of pay

The plan would make income tax more progressive, with more brackets applied to monthly pay at source and the separate annual income tax abolished. The non-taxable part of a salary would rise from 23% to 35% of the average wage, so that lower earners pay less and higher earners more. Instead of cutting excise duties, which the students say hit the poorest hardest, the programme proposes taxing labour less and large wealth more, including property assessed on the combined value of all holdings and a higher inheritance tax on large estates.

Public contracts, Expo 2027 and special laws

All public procurement contracts would be published in full, with prices and bid scores, and any party that breaches a contract would be blacklisted for three years. Reference prices would apply to medicines, IT equipment, vehicles and fuel; exceeding them would trigger a review of the contract. Special laws for Belgrade Waterfront, Expo 2027 and linear infrastructure projects would be reviewed and then repealed, amended or aligned with general rules, each option accompanied by an assessment of arbitration risk. Ratified international agreements would not be changed unilaterally. For ongoing projects, the State Audit Institution and an independent technical auditor would publish actual costs and outstanding obligations.

State companies, subsidies and a development bank

Strategic state companies would not be sold, and their managers would be chosen from a public list of experts. Mandates of directors, acting directors and supervisory boards appointed under the current law would end within 12 months of a new law taking effect. Per-job subsidies for investors would be abolished, though existing commitments honoured; incentives would go only to projects that raise average wages. The Development Fund and the export credit agency AOFI would be merged into a Development Bank of Serbia in the first half of the mandate, lending only through commercial banks, with borrowing capped by law at four times its capital.

What it means for the dinar and public debt

The programme rules out a devaluation and says the current regime of a relatively stable exchange rate with inflation targeting will continue. It notes that only 22.5% of public debt is in dinars and sets a goal of raising that share to 30% by the end of the mandate, partly through dinar savings bonds for citizens. The outlets that reported the plan did not carry reactions from the outgoing government, the opposition or business groups by Saturday night.