The State Tax Service has launched a campaign to identify employers that pay salaries “in envelope”, which is illegally, using undeclared or partially declared labor of employed persons, IPN reports, with reference to Nicoleta Nemerenco, division head at the Service.

The first stage of the campaign starts on March 20 and will last for three months. This will cover 17 business entities. “Applying the risk criteria, the State Tax Service ascertained that these employees frequently use illegal and undeclared labor or partially declared labor of employees,” Nicoleta Nemerenco stated in a news conference.

The given employers are offered the possibility of reviewing the reports on salaries paid to employees and of correctly paying taxes. If they do not comply, they will be put on the list of companies that will be subject to inspections at the second stage of the campaign. The second stage will be launched in June.

Nicoleta Nemerenco said the penalty for the owed social contributions is a fine that is twice larger than the diminished sum, while for the diminution of the mandatory health insurance contributions the fine is equal to the diminished sum. The fine for each person working for a company without being officially employed is 10,500 to 15,000 lei. If it is established that the salaries were paid without fully indicating the amounts in the accounting records and financial reports, the legal entity faces a fine of 50,000 to 75,000 lei.

The employees who accept salaries “in envelope” are also affected. “They risk being deprived of the right to medical assistance, to a future decent pension. Surely, the position of the person who accepts the salary “in envelope” is very uncertain in a company,” stated Nicoleta Nemerenco.

According to the State Tax Service, 137 cases of payment of salaries “in envelope” were identified in 2017.

A study shows that the persons who work unofficially in Moldova represent 36.35% of the employed. This figure is the highest in agriculture, transport and industry.