There are several provisions in tax regulations on benefits for persons with disabilities, especially in the Income Tax Act and the Value Added Tax Act. Employers can also receive various tax benefits for the employment of people with disabilities, but also pay penalties if they do not employ a sufficient number of people with disabilities. This is prescribed by the Act on Professional Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities (OG 157/13 – 32/20), as well as the Ordinance on Incentives for the Employment of Persons with Disabilities (OG 157/13, 152/14, 39/18 and 32 / 20).
INCENTIVES FOR EMPLOYMENT OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
Income taxpayers who perform self-employed activities may be further reduced in the tax period by the amount of paid salaries and paid contributions to the salaries of new employees. The taxpayer may use the right to deduct income from wages and contributions to the wages of new workers one year from the date of their employment, and the exclusive right to deduct income from wages and contributions to wages of new workers – a person with disabilities can use three years from their employment.
Incentives thus relate to:
- salary subsidy,
- co-financing of education costs,
- co-financing the costs of adapting the workplace,
- co-financing the costs of adjusting working conditions,
- compensation in the amount of the paid contribution for compulsory health insurance,
- co-financing of professional support costs,
- special funds for the development of new technologies and business processes to employ and maintain the employment of persons with disabilities and
- support for the sustainability of self-employment of people with disabilities.
It is also important to note that incentives for the employment of persons with disabilities can be obtained by the employer for persons with disabilities who are entered in the register of employees with disabilities.
An employer who employs a person with a disability in the open labor market can receive a wage subsidy for each employed person with a disability in the amount of 10% to 70% of the subsidy base. The amount of support needed through a salary subsidy is determined by the Center for Vocational Rehabilitation with findings and opinions, and the right to a subsidy can be exercised after the person with a disability is employed and if the findings and opinion of the center determine the need for support through a salary subsidy.
In addition to applying for a subsidy, the employer must also submit:
- proof of employment of a person with a disability, ie proof of commencement of activities,
- report of the center on the implemented performance appraisal service, which identified the need for support through a salary subsidy and the amount of the subsidy expressed as a percentage,
- proof that the person for whom the incentive is requested has been paid a salary, and that the corresponding contributions, taxes, and surcharges have been paid for it, and
- proof that there are no debts to the state on any grounds.
The right to a salary subsidy is exercised on the day the application is submitted, and this application must be submitted no later than 30 days from the date of payment of salary, contributions, taxes, and surcharges for the month for which the incentive is requested. By missing the application deadline, the applicant loses the right to the incentive for the requested period.
You can find more details on incentives for the employment of persons with disabilities on the website of the Institute for Expertise, Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities, as well as in the Ordinance.
Due to the current situation with coronavirus, the incentive “Salary subsidy for persons with disabilities” granted by the Institute for Expertise, Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities cannot be realized if the employer uses the measure of the Croatian Employment Service – measure in sectors affected by a coronavirus.
PENALTIES FOR UNEMPLOYMENT OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
Penalties in the event of non-employment of persons with disabilities are paid by each employer who does not employ a sufficient number of persons with disabilities, and this is mandatory under the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities Act. Employers who employ at least 20 workers are subject to quotas, ie employment of a certain number of persons with disabilities, and the number of persons with disabilities that the employer is obliged to employ is calculated at the rate of 3% of the total number of employees. The quota includes all workers who are employed full-time and part-time, as well as those who are on maternity, parental leave, or sick leave.
However, employers can also meet the quota in an alternative way:
- admitting students with disabilities or students with disabilities to practice,
- admission to the practice of rehabilitators as part of professional rehabilitation,
- concluding a contract on performing student work with a student with a disability,
- admission of persons with disabilities to vocational training for work without employment,
- concluding a business cooperation agreement with a self-employed person with a disability,
- concluding business cooperation agreements with protective and integrative workshops, as well as with companies, cooperatives, and associations in which more than half of the workers are persons with disabilities, and
- scholarships for regular education of persons with disabilities.
Some employers may be exempt, even though they have more than 20 employees, and these are:
- Foreign diplomatic and consular missions,
- Representations of foreign persons,
- Integrative and protective workshops,
- Newly established company for a maximum of 24 months from the date of commencement of operations and
- Employers in the sector of production of textiles, clothing, leather, wood, and furniture (valid from 01.04.2020)
Employers who do not meet the quota either by employing people with disabilities or in a substitute way are obliged to pay penalties. The penalty is 20% of the minimum wage, per month, for each person with a disability that the employer was required to employ.
