BELGRADE, 20.09.2019. -The Serbian Center for Investigative Journalism (CINS) said on Wednesday that pro-government media had deferred billions of Dinars (1 Euro – 118 Dinars) in tax payments and received millions in state funding over the past four years.
According to CINS, TV Pink deferred the payment of 1.52 billion Dinars (1 Euro – 118 Dinars) of tax debts over the past four years while the tabloids Informer and Srpski Telegraf received 52.5 million Dinars in state funding at tenders for public interests media projects over a period of three years.
It said that the state Tanjug news agency has continued to receive money from the government through commercial contracts even though it was supposed to have been shut down.
CINS said that Tanjug had received at least 129 million Dinars from the government since October 2015 as funding for the closure of the agency and in payment for contracts. The agency also got permission from the Belgrade city authorities to put up artwork as collateral to defer the payment of 5.7 million Dinars in taxes.