Employers will be able to offer sports vouchers to employees for being used as an instrument for paying in sports commercial units that will have contracts for the provision of services signed with the operator. The legislative proposal was presented by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry together with a group of MPs and contains amendments to the law on meal vouchers that will be renamed the law on meal and sports vouchers, IPN reports.
MP Alexandr Trubca, who initiated the bill, said the sports vouchers could be used for sport services, for purchasing season tickets for gyms, swimming pools and for renting a football pitch. The tickets cannot be used to purchase sports equipment or to pay for auxiliary training, massage and other services. The proposal is designed to stimulate the practicing of sports by the population by attending fitness halls, swimming pools or at football pitches and tennis courts.
Chamber of Commerce and Industry head Sergiu Harea said that together with the signing of the Free Trade Agreement, with the opening of borders, companies in Moldova have been in a permanent competition with companies from the region and the world. The conducted analysis shows that labor productivity at companies is much lower than Europe and they therefore decided to formulate a proposal for stimulating the leading of a healthy lifestyle, increasing productivity and enhancing competiveness of companies and the national economy. The development of sports services for citizens as a new business sector in Moldova will be encouraged.
The tax-deductible nominal value of a meal voucher and a sports voucher for a workday will not exceed 2% of the minimum guaranteed official salary. The value of meal vouchers does not include the individual mandatory state social insurance contribution.
The sports units that want to accept sports vouchers as an instrument for payment for their service must ensure they obey the legislation on safety and quality norms concerning such services whose compliance will be assessed by a public law institution.
The working out of such a concept by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Moldova together with a group of MPs was justified by a number of quality studies showing that only about 37% of Moldova’s residents practice sports. About 5% of these practice sports each month, 11% - weekly, while 20% - daily.
