Romania’s economy could grow by 5%-6% provided fiscal discipline maintains

The government’s target is to reach a medium term economic growth of 5%-6% per year, by maintaining fiscal discipline, so that Romania could recover differences to other European state, said finance minister Ioana Petrescu on Tuesday.

Our target is to have a 5%-6% economic growth per year . We need this growth to catch up with the rest of Europe and I think that if we continue with this type of measures that encourage the business environment we will obtain this target by maintaining fiscal discipline, said Petrescu at “The EU-South East Europe Summit”.

She showed that Romania the second largest fiscal consolidation after Greece, as of 2009, when structural deficit was over 9% of GDP. Now it is 1.7% and was obtained by maintaining fiscal discipline.

The minister reminded the recent government measures - reducing CAS by 5% for employers, tax free reinvested profit and the decision to reduce taxes on special constructions from 1.5% to 1% and exempting constructions in the Black Sea from taxes. She mentioned that 13,000 jobs were created by means of state aid. Petrescu referred to measures of curbing tax evasion by promoting payments by card and reducing cash payments and by the setting up of the Anti fraud Department within ANAF. “By all these measures adopted we must maintain fiscal discipline,”the minister said.

The government anticipates a 2.5% economic deficit this year, after an increase of 3.5% in 2013. IMF estimates GDP higher by 2.4% this year and by 2.5% next year.

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