The 15% rise in the land tax, as provided in the draft budgetary-fiscal and customs policy for 2016, will represent an additional burden on agricultural producers that sustained significant losses owing to drought last year, head of the Parliament’s standing commission for agriculture and food industry Radu Mudreac said in a meeting of the working group set up by the legislature to examine the draft policy, IPN reports.
The MP noted that the farmers weren’t paid the subsidies to which they were entitled in 2015. “The unpaid subsidies for last year are large in amount. There is no clarity as to the size of the agriculture subsidization fund for 2016. It is proposed also raising the tax on hay and pasture. What should the farmers do? How should they increase production and exports?” asked the MP.
Minister of Finance Octavian Armasu said that this tax hasn’t been reviewed for many years. On the other hand, the proposal was submitted by local public authorities that aim to consolidate the local budget incomes. “Representatives of local public authorities and of associations of agricultural producers discussed the proposal to double the tax in a meeting. No consensus was reached. That’s why it is suggested raising the land tax by 15%,” he stated.
It is projected that the farmers will pay by about 20 lei more per hectare of farmland if the land tax is increased.
