Premium
About a third of the Romanian companies (37pct) directed 2017 amounts in the form of sponsorship to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) worth over 100,000 lei, while 45pct ranging from 5,000 to 100,000 lei, according to a study by EY Romania, in partnership with the Association for Community Relations (ARC) and Hospice Casa Sperantei, presented on Thursday in a press conference.
The study also shows that of the total number of companies that transferred over 100,000 lei to NGOs, 14pct directed more than 500,000 lei. At the same time, 18pct of the surveyed companies mentioned that they chose to wire over 5,000 lei and 23pct between 100,001 and 500,000 lei.
According to the study's findings, the most supported areas were: education (68pct), health (64pct), social services (55pct), culture (41pct), environment (11pct) and sport (9pct).
First on the list of reasons why companies chose to sponsor NGOs is the responsibility for community issues (75pct of the total), followed by tax incentives (52pct), moral duty (30pct), support for NGOs (27pct), the positive effect on the employees (20pct), the fact that the management of the company is impressed by the causes supported by them (20pct) and others (9pct).
The estimates of the ARC show that, based on the Sponsorship Law and the Tax Code, commercial companies could have directed over 494 million euro last year to the non-governmental sector. In fact, only 49pct of the companies that were taxed on profits throughout the year 2017 used the fiscal facility, although it does not involve any cost to the taxpayer.
