The government puts an increasing burden on small businessmen, craftsmen, day laborers...

Business owners in Croatia have welcomed the abolition of fixed prices, but warn that they do not want them to be replaced under different names. According to the Union of Croatian Entrepreneurs and Self-Employed (UGP), this move follows recent protests organized by the group at Zagreb's Zrinjevac under the banner "Enough of the burden!" In these demonstrations, entrepreneurs, artisans, and citizens expressed their rejection of new administrative and financial obligations without justification or analysis of their impact. The UGP warns that the removal of fixed prices should not result in their renaming as base prices. They argue that delaying decisions is not a solution, nor is renaming equivalent to abolishing. The anticipated new obligations related to disclosing base prices and publishing price lists on websites represent continued administrative burdens for artisans, micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, and traders. They remain committed to their demand for the complete abolition of controversial obligations, rather than replacing them with new regulations that would impose additional costs, technical adjustments, and administrative procedures on entrepreneurs. The UGP emphasizes that prices will not drop simply because entrepreneurs fill out another form or publish daily price lists online. Factors affecting prices include taxes, labor costs, energy, procurement, and numerous other burdens. If the government wants to help citizens and reduce inflationary pressures, it must address the real causes of rising prices, not create new obligations whose costs ultimately become part of business expenses. According to the UGP, transparency in pricing should not serve as an excuse for accumulating new administrative obligations. Each new obligation must have clearly demonstrated benefits, be proportional to the size of the business entity, and not create greater costs than the problems it aims to solve. The UGP continues to call for the abolition of base prices and the requirement for artisans, micro, small, and medium-sized businesses to publish price lists on their websites, along with appropriate amendments to the Consumer Protection Act and related regulations. They expect the Ministry of Economy to engage in genuine dialogue with representatives of those who will implement these rules before making new decisions, rather than after problems arise. They also request data, analyses, and calculations regarding the benefit of the new obligations, the cost of their implementation for entrepreneurs, and why this particular model is necessary. They remind that the abolition of fixed prices is just one of ten demands made by the UGP and the Save Small Family Rentals (SMOi) association to the government through their protests. They continue to insist on tax relief, reducing administrative obligations, applying the principle of "warning first, penalty later," voluntary membership in chambers and tourism associations, greater transparency in public spending, and protecting the legal security of small entrepreneurs and family landlords. In Rijeka, the city council member for Most, Petra Mandić, and parliamentary representative Marin Miletić warned that new regulations on price disclosure and base prices further administratively burden small entrepreneurs, artisans, and self-employed individuals. At the same time, the government is retracting its recent decisions on fixed prices, which it had issued only weeks ago. Mandić noted that the government introduced decisions on fixed prices and price disclosures in September, while the Ministry of Economy has since issued regulations governing base prices and price lists based on the Consumer Protection Act. She confirmed that the government is moving toward abolishing its decisions on fixed prices and price disclosures. However, regulations on base prices remain. This means that entrepreneurs will no longer have fixed prices, but will still have regular, promotional, and base prices, along with the obligation to disclose and update price lists. Such a system complicates business operations for those who should focus on running their businesses rather than studying new regulations daily. She rejected claims that introducing base prices is an obligation stemming from European Union requirements, stating that the government is trying to retroactively present its own decisions as temporary and as an administrative relief. These decisions were not presented as temporary when they were made. They were intended to be imposed on entrepreneurs alongside fiscalization 2.0, base prices, price lists, and a host of new administrative obligations. Now, an impression is being created that something is being abolished and that entrepreneurs are being relieved of burdens, while obligations related to base prices and price disclosures remain. She specifically warned of potential legal confusion until the government’s decisions formally cease to apply. If the government does not officially revoke its decisions as announced, entrepreneurs would have two different rules for the same thing. Mandić pointed out that according to the government’s decision, a price list would need to be updated every day by 8 am, whereas according to the minister’s regulation, it would need to be updated by 11 am the following working day after a change. An entrepreneur would then have to guess which regulation applies, with fines potentially reaching tens of thousands of euros. This is not a normal regulatory framework for small entrepreneurship. She reminded that Most previously submitted a proposal to the Constitutional Court concerning the government’s decision on price disclosure, requesting an assessment of its legality and urgent proceedings. The Constitutional Court has yet to respond, while the government itself has announced that it will revoke its decisions. Entrepreneurs have had to track what is valid, what will be valid, and what they might have to apply throughout this period. Miletić assessed that the government’s economic policy places increasing burdens on small entrepreneurs, artisans, self-employed individuals, and small landlords, while treating large business systems much more leniently. He stated that it is clear why small entrepreneurs feel lost. People who contribute to the Croatian budget and create jobs must monitor new forms, regulations, and obligations every month. Instead of a stable and predictable system, they receive a forest of regulations in which even the government no longer knows what was adopted, what remains in force, and what is revoked. He referred to the announcement that the government’s decisions will cease to apply on November 17, assessing that the entire situation demonstrates a lack of coordination within the government. If the government revokes its own decisions after several weeks while a minister simultaneously issues other regulations on the same area, it becomes clear why small entrepreneurs feel lost. They need fewer regulations, clear rules, and certainty that what is valid today will not be completely changed tomorrow. Mandić and Miletić concluded that Most will not support a model in which the fight against inflation and consumer protection reduces to continuously introducing new administrative obligations. Instead, they seek a simpler and more predictable approach.