Due to considerable share in total employment and foreign trade exchange, agriculture represents an important sector of the Serbian economy. It is, therefore, necessary to continuously analyze the financial performance of agricultural companies and key determinants of financial performance. The objectives of this paper are to analyze the corporate income tax burden of agricultural companies in Vojvodina, as well as its impact on company profitability. Statistical tests showed that effective corporate income tax rates (ETRs) in agricultural companies are significantly lower than the statutory corporate income tax rate. Furthermore, nearly 69% of observations have both a current ETR and cash ETR of 0%, which indicates that agriculture is an industry with an exceptionally low corporate income tax burden. Panel regression showed that agricultural companies with lower ETRs are more profitable than companies with higher ETRs. Results of the analysis are not sensitive to changes in corporate income tax burden and profitability proxies.

Since agriculture is the highly important economic activity in the Republic of Serbia, it is necessary to create an environment in which competitive agricultural enterprises will develop. However, regions in the Republic of Serbia considerably differ regarding the intensity of agricultural activity. This paper examines the impact of agricultural enterprises on the region's contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country in the period between 2010 and 2018. Activity of agricultural enterprises was observed using number of agricultural enterprises, number of employees in them, their turnover and gross value added. Random-Effects GLS regression showed that regions with higher agricultural activity contribute to the lesser extent to the GDP of the country. Research results are robust to changing sampling period and lagging independent variables. In this regard, several proposals have been recommended.

The paper examines the quality of financial reporting on income tax in Serbia and Croatia in order to determine the extent to which disclosed information on income tax in these countries is useful for economic decision making. The research based on financial statements of listed and non-listed companies for 2016 reveals that disclosed information on the income tax is not entirely in accordance with the relevant regulation. Therefore, there is a significant room for improvement of income tax financial reporting practices in both countries. The quality of disclosed income tax information is not related to the presence of companies in the stock market, as capital markets in Serbia and Croatia do not provide strong incentives for disclosing adequate information on income tax. The research also reveals significant differences in the prevailing sources of deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities between Serbia and Croatia, which indicates that the income tax financial reporting is conditioned by the specifics of the national environment.

Efektivna poreska stopa (EPS) je jedna od najčešće korišćenih mera opterećenja porezom na dobitak. Iako se uobičajeno računa na godišnjem nivou, u poslednjoj deceniji koncept dugoročnih EPS postaje popularan. Ciljevi rada jesu poređenje godišnjih i dugoročnih EPS u bankama u Srbiji i poređenje uticaja determinanti EPS u kratkom i dugom roku. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da su godišnje i dugoročne EPS u bankama u Srbiji relativno niske. Iako propisana stopa poreza na dobitak iznosi 15%, najveći broj opservacija ima EPS niže od 5%. Značajan procenat opservacija ima godišnje EPS od 0%. Istraživanje je pokazalo da veće banke imaju statistički značajno više godišnje EPS. Međutim, u slučaju dugoročnih EPS, taj nalaz nije statistički značajan. Rezultati istraživanja mogu biti korisni menadžmentu banaka prilikom planiranja poreza na dobitak i poređenja poreskog opterećenja sa prosekom delatnosti, i nacionalnim poreskim vlastima prilikom reformisanja sistema oporezivanja banaka.

Research Question: The paper investigates the relationship between taxation and dividend payout decisions of companies in the Republic of Serbia. Motivation: Including taxation in dividend policy discussion may allow for better understanding of decisions of companies to pay dividends. Prior worldwide research results on the impact of taxation on dividend policy are inconclusive, often contradicting and cannot be universally accepted. Despite abundant research in previous decades, the key drivers of dividend policy of companies are still unknown and there exists a so-called dividend puzzle. In addition, the research on dividend policy of companies in transition countries (including the Republic of Serbia) is relatively scarce. On the other hand, research in transition countries is important as transition countries have a significantly lower level of capital market efficiency and liquidity, having a lower number of joint stock companies and a lower number of companies that regularly pay dividends. Idea: Since tax burden may be a significant obstacle for companies to pay dividends, it may be relevant to research into whether corporate income tax burden has an impact on dividend payout ratio of companies, as well as the impact of dividend tax that shareholders have to pay on the dividend payout. Data: The study captured 23 companies listed on the Belgrade Stock Exchange between 2013 and 2018 that paid dividends in at least one year. In total, the research involved 92 dividend payouts. Research data have been retrieved from the Business Registers Agency of the Republic of Serbia. Tools: Research hypotheses are tested using EViews and IBM SPPS software. Statistical methods included descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analysis, as well as non-parametric statistical tests for independent samples. Findings: The analysis shows that corporate income tax does not impact a dividend payout ratio of companies, indicating that companies do not consider the corporate income tax when deciding on dividends, mostly due to the effective tax rates being considerably lower than the statutory tax rate of 15%. Also, statistical tests show that the dividend tax does not impact the dividend payout ratio, as there is no significant difference in the dividend payout ratio between companies whose largest shareholder is high taxed and companies whose largest shareholder is low taxed. Contribution: Research results may be of interest for company management when designing the dividend policy as well as for investors when deciding on shares investment in accordance with their tax preferences.