Moldovan diaspora 'is not a cash cow'

An initiative group that represents the Moldovan diaspora poses against the road tax that owners of vehicles registered abroad must pay. The initiative group sent a letter to the authorities requesting them to “stop viewing the diaspora as a cash cow”, reports Info-Prim Neo. It its open letter addressed to the Parliament, Government and Minister of Finance Veaceslav Negruta, the initiative group says that the terms of 3, 30 and 180 days of stay on Moldovan territory for foreign-registered vehicles, especially the respective fees of €7, 65, and 380, are “more than absurd”, being “the largest fees in the poorest country in Europe”. “We remind you that, according to official tariffs, the annual road tax for Moldovan-registered vehicles varies, depending on engine capacity, from 100 lei to 3,000 lei, averaging at 500 lei, about €35, or 20 times less than the annual tax that the Government want to impose on us”, says the letter of the diaspora representatives. The open letter is a response to the Government’s decision of September 10 to introduce a road tax on vehicles registered outside of Moldova. “Mr. Minister of Finance, at the initiative of whom the bill was proposed, spoke about equity, claiming that the vehicles registered in Moldova pay the road tax, whereas foreign vehicles don’t pay anything. Should we presume that these exaggerated fees will bring to the perfect equity equilibrium between the citizens of Moldova?”, wonders the initiative group. The letter’s signatories believe that this tax, which is aimed directly at them, is an insult to the entire diaspora. “We cannot agree with such decisions, and believe that Mr. Minister Veaceslav Negruta does not have that much of an equitable vision, especially when Moldova is swarming with vehicles registered in the eastern part of the country, and pay no taxes at all. We believe that the most suitable solution would be to decrease these taxes to a reasonable extent. Moreover, the most equitable method would be to include the road tax into fuel prices. Thus, those who use more fuel – thus, use roads more – will pay more, rendering the vehicle’s country of registration irrelevant”, propose the representatives of the Moldovan diaspora. “Mr. Negruta, we ask you to stop viewing the diaspora as Moldova’s cash cow, but rather deal with the taxation of Chisinau’s billionaires. Consequently, Messrs MPs, we ask you, don’t adopt this bill, don’t disappoint us, don’t make a shame of yourselves”, urges the initiative group. The initiative group is made up of Moldova diaspora organizations from several countries.