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Romanian Business Leaders representatives ask Gov't all tax changes to be applicable only as of next year
In a meeting on Wednesday at the Victoria Palace of Government with Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu and other government representatives, Romanian Business Leaders (RBL) delegates requested a 6-month enforcement deadline for the implementation of any measures that "render the tax burden" heavier for Romanian companies, as stipulated in the Tax Code, RBL chairman Marius Stefan said.
"The message we received was that there will be increases in two stages, the government would rather have the word readjustment instead of increase, this was the term used, part of the measures will enter in force as of September 1 - we are waiting to see what those measures will be, there is less than a month left till then, and some will come in force as of January 1," Marius Stefan said, adding that the fiscal measures to be applied were not presented because "as far as we know, there is not yet an agreement in the coalition".
He also pointed out that in the opinion of the RBL representatives, certain intended measures can do "more harm than good".
"Seeking to collect more money for the budget, a VAT or excise duty increase could somehow boost tax evasion, they could backfire and budget receipts could go down, contrary to the legislator's intention," Marius Stefan cautioned.
On the other hand, he said that RBL understands the need to raise taxes on micro-enterprises.
"On this point we explained to the prime minister that we understand. There are many situations in Romania where micro-enterprises are actually used as a vehicle for the payment of salaries. It's something we, as a business environment, do not encourage, we don't want this situation to continue. At the same time, we wouldn't want to hit small businesses. (...) We expressed our concern, we asked for a budget impact survey by income thresholds, we'll see what they come up with," said the RBL chairman.