Eight reform laws pertaining to the financial area have been drafted by the Government and provided to the Parliament for approval. They are modifications to the laws on securities, customs administration, customs tariff, customs operations, fast money transfer, prevention of money laundering and funding terrorism, state audit, and IPA.

In addition to helping harmonize the Macedonian laws with the EU acquis, the legal modifications are also going to contribute to improving the business climate in Macedonia. One of the novelties is that the value of foreign-purchased goods brought into the country is raised from 175 to 300 euros and another one is the possibility for an individual to possess up to 50 percent of the shares of the stock market. By way of these modifications, Finance Minister Zoran Stavreski said, preparations are being made for sale of the Macedonian Stock Exchange.

The Government has also modified the law on faster money transfer by reducing the amount of the capital stock for establishing a fast money transfer firm from 100,000 to 20,000 euros. The objective, according to Minister Stavreski is, having more fast money transfer operators extending this service at a lower commission.

In addition, customs duties on imported used cars got cut from 10 to 5 percent. Minister Stavreski confirmed that analyses were made to cut excise on imported cars, too, but he refused to reveal any details. He only revealed that effort was being made to find the model that would be fiscally neutral and would not cause budget loss.