The MPs gave a first reading to the budgetary-fiscal policy for next year. This was adopted by the votes of the MPs of the Party of Action and Solidarity, while the MPs of the Bloc of Communists and Socialists criticized the measures stipulated in the bill, dismissing them as hollow. The Shor Party boycotted the siting, IPN reports.
Minister of Finance Dumitru Budianschi said the bill comes with a series of measures that are designed to support the business community. “We expect the economy will decline by 3% in 2022 and this reduction will be felt and will continue in the first and second quarters of 2023. If the weather conditions are favorable and the regional climate is more favorable, things in the second half of 2023 are projected to improve so that an economic growth of 2% could be reached by the end of next year,” stated the minister.
According to him, to support the business community, the state proposed a number of measures that are rather costly. This way, the businesses that make profit and do not distribute it as dividends will not pay profits tax in 2023-2025. The measure applies to SMEs, except for those operating the financial sector. “Another measure comes to cardinally change the relationship between businesses and the state. In time, over 10 billion lei was collected into the state budget as VAT accumulated in the account. This sum appeared primarily due to the differences in quotas in the value chain and for other reasons. The Government for the first time comes with a new policy to refund the VAT accumulated in the account. This is a difficult task,” stated Dumitru Budianschi.
The bill also provides that the period by which activities based on patent are possible will be extended until July 1, 2023 and that the amounts collected as road tolls will be fully allocated in the form of general purpose transfers.
The BCS MPs criticized the proposal to increase the tax on bank deposit interest from 3% to 7% in 2023. “At least this tax wasn’t raised to 12% as it was proposed. With your government and when all the prices rise, the people could not gather money, but at least felt safe,” said Socialist MP Alla Pilipetskaya.
Dumitru Budianschi replied that there are persons who earn millions in interest on deposited money and these usually do not speak, but have representatives who speak in their name.
MP Alexandr Nesterovski expressed his dissatisfaction with the proposal to extend the time limit for using patent for only half a year at a time when a bill introduced into Parliament suggested extending this period for two years. Such a decision can influence the business entities working based on parent to migrate to the unground economy.
BCS MP Oleg Reidman said the draft budgetary-fiscal policy and the budget should be socioeconomic development instruments. In the current times of crisis, these bills should help to survive, but not even such a goal is pursued. The so-called support measures for businesses are hollow.
His mate Vlad Batrîncea noted that the presented draft budgetary-fiscal policy is an amalgam of interests and lobby for big companies, banks and oil companies, not yet of state interests only.
The six members of the parliamentary group of the Shor Party boycotted the sitting. They criticized the government for debating the state budget and all the related laws for next year in an unprecedented hurry. “Taking part in such a farce means legitimizing the flagrant abuses of the PAS regime,” noted the party.
