The gradual reduction in the ecological tax for importers dissatisfies the national producers who say that millions of lei would thus fail to be collected into the Ecological Fund. Chairman of the Association of Can Producers “Speranta-Con” Stefan Golubchuk told a news conference that the changes in the legislation favor the importers of packing that pollutes the environment according to producers, IPN reports.
The diminution of the tax is stipulated in the bill to amend the Law on Environmental Tax that was passed by Parliament in two readings, but wasn’t promulgated by the President and was remitted back to the parliamentary commissions. The bill provides for the reduction in the ecological tax for different types of plastic packing, composite, polyethylene, etc.
“This thing and the ecological situation of the country worry us. The Law on Environmental Tax was adopted ten years ago. About 280 million lei was collected annually into the Ecological Fund. It is not known how the money was spent, but this wasn’t used for the right purpose if we do not yet have a waste sorting and processing plant in the country,” stated Stefan Golubchuk.
The representatives of producers said the draft law is destructive and will lead to a decrease of over 80 million lei in the amounts collected into the budget. The producers consider the money collected as environmental taxes should be used to develop and implement solutions to ensure waste sorting, recycling and use. To achieve these goals, considerable financial resources are needed.
Stefan Golubchuk also said that the modification of the law can bring benefits only to importers as these will feel a significant reduction in costs. Given that there is a negative balance of trade, the policy to facilitate the access of imported goods is destructive and anti-state and will definitely lead to a decline in the volume of national production and in the number of jobs at local companies in time.