General national economic measures
-Support measures mitigating the effects of the crisis were introduced in both entities.
-In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBIH), a Stabilisation Fund helped to cover minimum wages and social contributions in affected companies, while the FBIH Development Bank set up a guarantee fund to maintain and improve the liquidity of companies.
-Other measures included extra funds for cantons and municipalities in the Federation, exemptions from para-fiscal fees for affected businesses, and the cancellation of advance corporate income tax payments.
-In the Republika Srpska (RS), a Solidarity Fund was established to support businesses, corporate income tax payments were deferred, and a fixed pricing margin for certain staple products was temporarily introduced. In addition, the RS government covered gross minimum wages for April 2020, along with income taxes and contributions for March wages for affected businesses, and the RS Investment Development Bank deferred overdue payments.
-Credit guarantee programmes for SMEs were also introduced in both entities.
-In August 2020 the FBIH Banking Agency and RS Banking Agency extended the moratorium on loan repayment by a further six months. Both agencies introduced the moratorium initially in March 2020 and then prolonged it by two more months. In August 2020 the RS Banking Agency also banned banks in the entity from paying dividends from 2019 profits.
(Source)
-On 30th March 2020 the EU approved assistance worth €73.5 million to Bosnia and Herzegovina for social and economic recovery (in addition to other funds for healthcare). This was part of the overall Western-Balkans Covid-19 support package worth €410 million. As with other countries covered by this arrangement, Bosnia and Herzegovina needed to co-ordinate with the EU, international and national financial institutions as the funds were to be used “to support the real economy, including SMEs, and support liquidity, also of the banking sector.”
-RUNDA (the independents music companies association for the region) called for part of these monies to be used to support music and other cultural sectors.
National measures specific to the music sector or to culture in general
None so far.
Health measures
Covid-19 measures and restrictions in the country can be found on the government's website.
Measures taken by local collecting society organisations
None so far.
Business and other expected losses
-UNESCO’s survey published in July 2020 found that the areas that rest on live performance and depend heavily on cultural tourism have been mostly affected by the prohibition of gatherings and stagnation of the tourism industry.
-A large portion of the income of the surveyed businesses came from cinematography, publishing activities, design, music industry, media, and architecture.
-52% had experienced a reduction in the scope of their business activities, which caused a decrease in income for 21% of the enterprises, with 5% having to consider a liquidation process.
-The majority of respondents (75%) stated that their current resources could ensure normal functioning for less than 6 months from the time of the survey, with only 5% saying they were able to remain active indefinitely. 22% of the enterprises and 8% of the institutions stated that they benefited from governmental measures, which are tax and contribution exemptions, delay in payments of VAT and other taxes, as well as subsidies for employees.
-The cultural and creative industry in Bosnia and Herzegovina is relatively young, and most of the surveyed enterprises had been active for less than 25 years at the time of the survey, with 9 employees on average.