The national public budget annually loses 5.6 billion lei following the non-taxing of salaries paid ‘in envelope’. According to estimates of research institutions, to which the National Confederation of Trade Unions makes reference, the salaries paid ‘in envelope’ total about 15.5 billion lei or approximately 50% of the annual remuneration fund. The consequences of informal economy in Moldova were discussed in a meeting of the social partners on September 11, IPN reports.
The Confederation’s head Oleg Budza said an efficient measure is to make the punishment for the illegal payment of salaries harsher. “The current penalties do not scare economic entities. The fines should be much heavier. Solutions should be found to ensure the flexibility of the system of taxing economic entities, which should be motivated and interested to work legally,” he stated.
The participants in the discussions said the authorities must institute a friendly, sustainable and predictable system of taxes and duties. This way the employers will not have pretexts to avoid paying taxes, while the employees will be determined not to yield to the pressure coming from the informal area. An important role must be played by the trade unions and employers as these should transmit a coherent and common message to the government.
According to the State Labor Inspectorate, an interdepartmental group that carried out inspections at national companies during over half a year identified about 800 cases when employees didn’t have a work contract. There were imposed fines of over 800,000 lei, mainly at private companies.
The National Bureau of Statistics said the informal economy in Moldova reached the highest level in 2011, when it represented 25.5%, while the lowest level was recorded in 2007 – 21.3%. In 2014, 32.5% of the persons working in economy had an informal job, while each tenth salary earner said they receive a part or the whole salary ‘in envelope’.
