The National Association of Restaurants and Recreational Places of the Republic of Moldova (MĂR) is against the return to the 20% VAT from the current VAT rate of 10% for the hospitality sector. The reaction came after Minister of Finance Natalia Gavriliţa on July 23 announced a series of fiscal measures that the Government intends to promote, IPN reports.
MĂR president Aneta Zasavitski said the fiscal reform of October 1, 2018, which implied the reduction of the VAT rate for the hospitality industry to 10%, is in accordance with the EU practices and is a necessity for which they had pleaded since 2013, when the association started work.
“In our opinion, the decision to increase the VAT will have negative effects on the economic activities, taken together with the promised rises in electricity and gas rates,” stated Aneta Zasavitski.,
She also said that these measures will also have a negative effect on ordinary consumers and on the employees of this sector. “Such a hasty decision taken without discussing with the businesses of the hospitality industry does not seem correct to us.”
The MĂR president proposed initiating a dialogue on the issue before ratifying the agreement with the International Monetary Fund. According to her, the national businesses do not deserve being sacrificed for the sake of short-term loans.
