● MONDAY, June 22

Gasoline grows dearer

Four large oil companies informed the National Agency for Energy Regulation about their intention to raise the prices of gasoline by 0.54 lei per liter, to 17.8 lei on average, on June 21. One of the companies will yet diminish the retail price of diesel fuel by 0.20 lei per liter, to 16.25 lei. According to the Agency, the oil companies invoked the rise in the PLATT'S quotations, in the import prices of oil products and in the excises on these products as well as the depreciation of the Moldovan leu against the U.S. Dollar. Official data show the average PLATT'S quotation for gasoline in the period between January and the beginning of June rose by 44.4%, while for diesel fuel – by 23.8%. As a result, the important prices of oil products also increased. The import price of a tonne of diesel fuel in January-June rose by 36/5% in dollars, while in national currency – by 47.7%.

● TUESDAY, June 23

15% reduction in property tax available by June 30

Taxpayers can benefit from a 15% reduction if they fully pay the property tax until June 30. The property tax is paid on buildings, apartments, garages and other improvements as well as on the land on which these are situation and on land owned by agricultural associations with buildings on it. The exact tax rates are set by the local public authorities, but these must vary between 0.3% and 0.05% of the market value of the property, as provided in the Tax Code. A series of property tax concessions are envisioned for persons of retirement age, persons with disability degrees, participants in the Chernobyl cleanup and in the war for defending Moldova’s integrity as well as for other categories of taxpayers. But this applies only to one improvement, which is the taxpayers’ home, and to a particular area. In the municipality of Chisinau, for example, the value of this area cannot be higher than 380,000 lei, as assessed by the cadastral agency “Cadastru”.

Nationalization of BEM would cost 17% of GDP and would lead to default, BSUF report

Banca de Economii (BEM) can be nationalized only with the consent of the current majority shareholders and this nationalization would cost 7-8% of the GDP. After the nationalization, the state will have to pay all the debts assumed earlier by the BEM, which is another 10% of the GDP. Thus, the budget deficit during the first year alone will rise to over 17%. This would make it unsustainable and would lead to a default in Moldova, says a report by the Black Sea University Foundation (BSUF). The report says that the foreign exchange reserves of the National Bank of Moldova since 2014 until now decreased from US$2.7 billion to US$1.7 billion. The nationalization of the BEM would swiftly use up the central bank’s reserves and Moldova would experience a much more serious crisis than that of 1998. “Nationalization means transfer of the right of ownership from a private owner to the state following just compensation. In the case of the BEM, Moldova will take over the BEM from its owners – private individuals and legal entities – after paying compensation to these. However, given that the BEM is a public company, i.e. it is quoted on the stock exchange, the takeover is possible through squeeze-out, when the state makes a public offer to purchase shares at a price that will represent the average price of a share for the last 12 months,” says the report.

Justice Ministry confirms legality of publishing data about company founders

The Economic Council under the Prime Minister said the Ministry of Justice confirmed that the publication of data about company founders is legal. The State Registration Chamber and the Information Resources Center “Registru” are responsible for publishing the names and surnames of the founders of companies. One of the last requests made by ex-Prime Minister Chiril Gaburici was for the Ministry of Justice to pronounce on the legal norms concerning the publication of the names and surnames of the founders of companies in Moldova. Such a request was made after experts of the National Center for Personal Data Protection said the publication of such data is illegal.

● WEDNESDAY, June 24

Farmers ask for subsidies for two more problems

Representatives of associations of farmers and lawmakers reached a consensus over four problems highlighted by agricultural producers. Chairman of the National Farmers Federation of Moldova Valeriu Cosarciuc, after the meeting of the special commission for drafting a package of legislative amendments to support the farmers, said no decision was yet made over the increase in the subsidization fund and the mechanism for providing advantageous loans to farmers. “The financial resources needed for augmenting the subsidization fund haven’t been identified. The Ministry of Finance was instructed to look for money. No solutions were yet found for instituting an advantageous lending regime for farmers. Next week the commission will hold its last meeting before July 1, when the package of laws must be presented. I don’t think that solutions to all the problems included in the agricultural package will be identified, but it is important that there is willingness to look for solutions. Of the seven points included in the Parliament decision, no solutions were found over two of them,” stated Valeriu Cosarciuc.

Foreign partners must toughen up conditions for providing assistance, “Expert-Grup”

Moldovan society needs a much firmer external lever for increasing the pressure put on the government and for stimulating the reformation process, executive director of the Independent Analytical Center “Expert-Grup” Adrian Lupusor said in a public debate. According to him, Moldova is not a self-sufficient state and the assistance provided by the foreign development partners plays thus a special role. “The problem resides in the fact that the development partners haven’t been sufficiently incisive and didn’t impose enough conditions and even didn’t appropriately monitor the use of the technical and financial assistance offered to Moldova,” said Adrian Lupusor. He noted the development partners must exert more pressure so as to hasten the negotiation and signing of a new program with the IMF so as to increase the foreign exchange reserves that are now at a rather low level and to oblige the government to promote systemic reforms. A new program with the IMF will also unlock the financing promised by the World Bank, the European Commission and other partners. This financing is very important not only for supporting the budget, but also for continuing the reforms started in different sectors of the Moldovan economy.

Roman Chirca about BSUF: it is an apogee of incompetence

Director of the Chisinau-based Market Economy Institute Roman Chirca considers the report by the Black Sea University Foundation (BSUF) about the authorities’ intention to nationalize Banca de Economii (BEM) is an apogee of incompetence. According to him, the conclusions of the report are erroneous and do not correspond to the real situation. “Nationalization is possible with the consent of the current majority shareholders, while the state is a majority shareholder with a holding of 56%. Therefore, the bank can be nationalized by a normative act adopted by Parliament, which can envision the payment of compensation or the gratis takeover. Given that the net asset value per share is negative, the value of these shares is nil,” said Roman Chirca.

● THURSDAY, June 25

How agricultural subsidies were distributed last year

The farmers last year received 544 million lei subsidies. The money was used to set up anti-hail and anti-frost systems on almost 200 ha of farmland and to build over 200 greenhouses, 11 hothouses and 26 tunnels. There were also opened poultry and cattle farms. Many farmers purchased agricultural machinery. The data were presented by the independent think tank “Expert-Grup”. Almost 30 million lei of the subsidies went to grow animals and crops. Over 70% of the ensured risks were cases of hail and drought. Over 50 million lei was provided to stimulate the setting up of multiannual plantations. There were created over 20,000 new orchards of apples and walnuts, almost 1,000 plum orchards and fewer apricot, cherry and other types of orchards.

● FRIDAY, June 26

Experts of Rosspotrebnadzor visited five canneries 

Experts of the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rosspotrebnadzor) have visited five Moldovan canneries. They took samples from three of these to determine the safety of cans. On the Federal Service’s website, it is said that the experts visited the companies Stamcom, Coval&Co, Iliada-Plus, Alfa-Nistru, and Natur-Bravo. They are now analyzing the samples taken from Natur-Bravo, Iliada-Plus and Alfa-Nistru. The results of the visit will be made public later.

 Industrial parks form association 

An Employers Association of Industrial Parks will soon appear in Moldova. Its statutes and duties were discussed in the general assembly of industrial parks on June 26. Deputy Minister of Economy Tudor Copaci said the Association will represent a platform for promoting the interests of Moldova’s industrial parks, attracting national and foreign investments, providing assistance to potential investors in the relations with the national authorities and disseminating the positive practices in organizing the activity of the industrial parks registered in Moldova and of the countries where such economic entities work.

● Sunday, June 28

Tax Service stages three open-air events for current and future taxpayers

A drawing contest entitled “Taxes in the children’s eyes” was held by the State Tax Service in the central park of Chisinau “Stefan cel Mare” within the events staged to mark the institution’s 25th anniversary, celebrated on July 1. The head of the State Main Tax Inspectorate Ion Prisacaru said the State Tax Service honored its obligations in the period, focusing its efforts on the collection of incomes into the state budget. This allowed implementing a number of socioeconomic development programs in the country. “Now we place emphasis on raising people’s awareness of the need to voluntarily pay taxes. Fiscal education plays an important role in this respect. And this education should start in childhood,” stated Prisacaru.