The amendments to the budgetary-fiscal and customs policy, proposed by the Ministry of Finance, have been adopted by the Parliament in two readings, IPN reports.
The draft stipulates that only individuals with incomes under 360 thousand lei per year shall benefit from personal exemption (24 thousand lei this year).
With a view to simplifying the tax administration, an income tax in the amount of 12% shall be withheld. Currently, an economic operators that buys something from an individual should only withhold 7% of the amount in order to pay it into the budget. Subsequently, as the income share is of 12%, the individual shall pay the difference upon submitting the annual declaration. According to the introduced amendments, operators will deduct 12% from the start.
Another amendment envisages a standard VAT rate of 20% for deliveries made by businesses operating in the field of HoReCa (hotels, restaurants and catering), while so far it has amounted to 10%.
The draft also reviews the fiscal treatment of commercial transactions through international mail. If goods are not commercial and do not exceed the quantitative limits set by legislation or their value does not exceed the non-taxable limit of 200 euros, VAT and excise duties shall not be perceived. In other cases, VAT and excise duty will be calculated based on the value of the goods in customs.
A separate section refers to the amendment of the Law on payment for environmental pollution, proposing to increase by 20% the payment applied to goods that pollute the environment.
The draft also contains amendments concerning meal tickets, for which compulsory state social insurance contributions shall be applied. They will still be exempt from income tax.
According to Natalia Gavrilița, Minister of Finance, these measures are meant to support companies differently than through exemptions. These represent conditions of the International Monetary Fund that should be met if the confidence of international institutions in the state institutions is to be restored.
Democratic Party MPs expressed their dissatisfaction with the passed amendments. They believe that the measures will have a negative effect on the final consumers. In his speech, MP Andrian Candu said that the fiscal budgetary policy lacked "vision and development", because they did not create jobs, conditions for foreign investors or development prospects. "You were in a hurry to create something to prove to the IMF that you could meet some conditions, but you did not take into account the position of the citizen," Andrian Candu said.
The Shor group staged out a walk-out before the initiative was passed in the first reading. In a speech addressed to the journalists, Marina Tauber, deputy of "Șor" Party, called the amendments "a crime against the small business".