45.000 Foreigners Own CRO Property!

[Mirko]

According to an article in Slobodna Dalmacija (daily, published in Split), 45.000 foreign citizens own property in Croatia. More on this in:

www.slobodnadalmacija.com/20050705/ekonomija01.asp

[valiant]

thats horrific. croatias most valuable resource is being sold off to foreigners. i have nothing against foreigners BUT croatia is not yet ready for this. when croatians here get to the stage where they are earning just as much money as the rest of western europe ..then i would let foreigners buy property here . croatia is being sold to foreigners because people are selling their land out of desperation , thanks to croatias stupid , corrupt , idioiotic , merciless , bastard communist run government.

[jackal]

its a beautiful place, people want to live there, instead of leaving there, and Tito died in 1980

[Culchie]

valiant said:

thats horrific. croatias most valuable resource is being sold off to foreigners. i have nothing against foreigners BUT croatia is not yet ready for this. when croatians here get to the stage where they are earning just as much money as the rest of western europe ..then i would let foreigners buy property here . croatia is being sold to foreigners because people are selling their land out of desperation , thanks to croatias stupid , corrupt , idioiotic , merciless , bastard communist run government.

96,000 people came into Ireland from the new EU states since Nov 2004, 45,000 of them Polish.
Ireland has population of 4.5 million, so this is a lot of people.

Should we tell them to P*** Off, or should we welcome them, and employ them so that they have a better life and be able to improve their standard of living, and that of their families back home.... I think the latter.

I think your thinking on this subject is very one dimensional.

Just how do you think that Croatia will achieve parity with 'Western Europe' ?

How?

[Ribaric]

There are about 7-8 million people living in London. There are only three of us Brits left there. Me, - and I've got a German surname, the other two are the O'Shaunessy brothers.

Everything changes and national identities are being blurred by immigration - in all directions. Thank heavens for that. Change is hard to accept though, for all of us.

[midge]

People owning property here - ok with me. You should worry about banks being owned by foreigners. Thats a cause for concern.

[Culchie]

midge said:

People owning property here - ok with me. You should worry about banks being owned by foreigners. Thats a cause for concern.

The banking industry around the world is dominated by a few big players, so there is nothing too extreme about that.

The #1 thing that is needed to stimulate the Croatian economy is to lower interest rates.

Lower interest rates will mean small businesses can take a chance on expansion.
Housing and Construction industry will prosper as people can afford repayments on mortgages, knock on effect will take place from there.

Throughout the world, construction industry is the first and most accurate indicator of economic growth, be that positive or negative.
Only one thing stimulates construction industry and that is low interest rates, if they come from foreign banks, so be it.

[EMIZZZZAGREB]

I will agree with Culchie about the interest rates, I will add however that banks here are not interested in businesses they are only interested in giving too many credit cards to people who can not really afford to pay them.

Any serious business loan needs to be approved from outside of Croatia, which involves either the bank representatives flying in from Italy/Austria or the businessman doing the same.

The whole taxation system needs a complete upheaval.

Regarding foreigners buying houses here, I do feel that some sort of restriction should be put in place, I would love Croatia to have more foreigners, but if all the land on the coast is owned by foreigners who rent out the property without paying local tax, this is a serious problem.

I would juts like to add however, that these figures like the tourist figures almost certainly classify German-Croats, American-Croats etc as foreigners.

[Culchie]

emizzzzagreb said:

Regarding foreigners buying houses here, I do feel that some sort of restriction should be put in place, I would love Croatia to have more foreigners, but if all the land on the coast is owned by foreigners who rent out the property without paying local tax, this is a serious problem.

Agreed. Difficult how to draw the line though. Where does it change from investment to exploitation?

[EMIZZZZAGREB]

There is no easy answer; I guess it is similar to villages close to large cities, the locals are being priced out by the city folk.

Croatia needs foreigner investment, I just wish people who invest in different areas and not just in the property market. I understand why they do it, my problem comes when they do not pay tax locally.

[Culchie]

emizzzzagreb said:

There is no easy answer; I guess it is similar to villages close to large cities, the locals are being priced out by the city folk.

Croatia needs foreigner investment, I just wish people who invest in different areas and not just in the property market. I understand why they do it, my problem comes when they do not pay tax locally.

As you know yourself, investors will invest where they get their best return on investment.

Until economy and small business enterprises are up and running (kick started by lower interest rates) then investors will put their money into 'Bricks and Mortar', same as any other country. Once they have decided that is the route they are taking, it's about location location location.

You can see how it is all a vicious circle.

1. Interest Rates need to be slashed to EU Bank level to stimulate risk and entrpreneurs

2. Income/Company profit tax breaks need to be given to all small businesses for a period of time (3-5 years)

3. Employees income tax also reduced, freeing up disposable economy that will be spent in local economy stimulating business growth etc etc etc...

Catch 22 !

Some good politicians are required !

Send in Charlie McCreevy !!

[EMIZZZZAGREB]

The government can help in making Croatia a more interesting place to invest, but until stealing and lying stop being the norm in business here, small companies will not find Croatia an attractive market. Croatia needs to start to produce more goods, if not then they should lower the ridiculous import tax, many things that are not produced in Croatia have very high import tax, why? Who are they protecting?

Every variable could change, if attitudes remain the same, investors will still be afraid.

Salary tax is a taxation that should be lowered now, what’s the point of having such high taxation? So the few honest employers get screwed? most people pay 50% of the salary cash-in-hand. If they lowered the tax, they would find that employers are more likely to pay the required amount.

It’s a case of what comes first the chicken or the egg, does the government change the rules and hope the population reacts positively, or should the people change first which allows the government to change their restrictions.

Croatia is a tough place to do business, it can be a very primitive place to do business, especially when you have to take payment in kind, but there are a lot of gaps in a lot of markets here that have already been sewn up elsewhere.

[Raul]

(My cat had send a message, thanks for deleting. )

As long as the Croatian coast does not become a resort for retired folks who do not pay taxes, I do'nt think this is a big problem.

I live in a small town with the size of Dubrovnik and we have more than 60 nationalities over here.

I am one of them.

[Anna]

raul said:

(My cat had send a message, thanks for deleting. )

Completely OT I know, but - wow, I wish my cats posted in this forum! They don't even attempt to use the computer.

[Raul]

Just teach them how to walk over your keyboard.