The Public Revenue Office has published its new list of debtors. The total tax debt owed to the state stands at more than 13.64 billion denars, or 221.8 million euros. There are 5,240 debtors - 2,008 legal entities and 3,232 individuals.

In one month the figure has grown by 7.3 million euros. Two companies and 38 citizens were added to the list.

The single largest debtor is a Skopje company that owes over 900 million denars, or 14.87 million euros. The problem with it is not the size of the debt - it is that there are no assets to collect from. Nearly 15 million euros of public money that exist only as a number in a table.

What exactly is recorded on that list

The bulk of what is unpaid falls under taxes and social contributions: 13.46 billion denars, or 218.8 million euros. That item alone is nearly 7.5 million euros higher than in the previous reading. On customs duties there is an improvement - in one month the debt fell by 194,700 euros, with a total outstanding sum of 2.98 million.

So of the two components, the smaller one is shrinking while the larger one is growing faster than the overall figure. That matters, because contributions are not some abstract state collection - they are the pension and health insurance of specific people.

The list covers debts that were due to be settled by 31 May and had still not been regulated by 31 August. These are obligations arising from VAT, profit tax, personal income tax, mandatory social insurance contributions, excise duties and customs. The publication threshold is above 120,000 denars for individuals and sole traders, and above 300,000 for legal entities.

Publication as the only measure

The Public Revenue Office notes that it publishes the list in accordance with Article 9 of the Law on Tax Procedure. That is accurate, and it is the only thing the law requires.

But look at what the numbers show: the list was published last month too, and over that period the amount did not fall - it rose by 7.3 million euros, with two firms and 38 citizens added. Public naming, conceived as pressure, did not behave like pressure this month.

The three Skopje companies at the top of the list are known to anyone who opens it. The question is what follows publication - whether there is a procedure that kicks into motion when a company turns up on that list for the third or fifth time, or whether the list is the end of the road rather than the start of it.

While these 221.8 million euros sit uncollected, the state borrows on international markets - this year with two eurobonds of 500 million euros each. Borrowed money carries interest and a maturity date. This money sits somewhere between the ledger and the uncollectible, and in the last month it grew by 7.3 million.