TransMin Grindeanu: I fully support turnover taxation on multinationals
Transport Minister Sorin Grindeanu said on Tuesday in Timisoara that he cannot afford living through a time when European funds are suspended, as all major transport projects in Romania are supported by them, and that he support taxing multinationals according to turnovers and even the imposition of a tax on banks' profits, told Agerpres.
"At this moment, you have to make certain decisions, because if we continue the same way, we overshoot the deficit target, which would mean that we have European funds suspended and we pay a fine of 0.5% of GDP. I, as transport minister, cannot afford to live through a time when our European funds would be suspended. There is no major transport project in Romania, at the moment, that is not financed by European funds. It would mean that all things have to stop. I can't support something like that and then certain decisions must be made," said Grindeanu.
He added that he fully supports multinationals being taxed according to their business turnovers.
"We cannot continue this way, because we will not meet that deficit target. I fully support the taxation of multinationals on turnover, but that is my opinion. I support the taxation and an increase in the tax on the transfer of profits outside the country. I do not know if it would not be good for us to apply what the Italians did about two weeks ago, namely, a tax on bank profits. Of course, Mr Isarescu[the governor of the National Bank of Romania] will come out and tell us that it is not good, but I say we need to look more carefully. It's a kind of luxury tax. I, as a left-wing person, certainly agree with such a thing. Don't let someone who has a house worth more than 500,000 euros say that if you levy a tax of 0.5% on him he is poor, because he is not poor. And if he has a car worth 75,000 euros, he is not poor either," said Grindeanu.
Grindeanu on Tuesday toured construction sites in the western part of the country.