As many as 32,000 salary earners received meal vouchers this August, which is by almost 10,000 persons fewer than last December, when 49,400 employees had such vouchers, says a response provided by the Ministry of Finance to IPN News Agency.

The meal vouchers issued in the course of 2019 came to the value of 329 million lei, while those issued in the first eight months of this year were worth 173,600 lei. A number of 356 employers provide meal vouchers at present.

The Ministry of Finance said the nominal value of a meal voucher for a workday deductible for fiscal purposes should range between 35 and 55 lei. Mandatory health insurance premiums and salary income taxes are not calculated from these incomes.

State social insurance contributions have been yet calculated for meal vouchers since this January. During January 1 – August 31, the state social insurance contributions paid by employees (6%) came to 10.42 million lei, while those paid by employers (18%) to 31.27 million lei.

The employer has the right to offer employees an individual allowance for food in the form of meal vouchers by fully paying the nominal value of these to the operator, the costs for printing the vouchers and other services stipulated in the contracts signed by the operator and employer. The employer cannot yet cut the salaries of employees when issuing them with meal vouchers.

If the value of meal vouchers is higher than 55 lei, the part that is higher than this amount can be deducted for fiscal purposes following the calculation of the income tax on salary, mandatory state social insurance contributions and mandatory health insurance premiums.