Romania needs real reforms, not reactive taxes, and without real GDP growth, based on work, innovation, education and investment in human capital, it will not be able to respect its European commitments and maintain its internal cohesion, argues the National Confederation for Women's Entrepreneurship (CONAF).
"Romania needs real reforms, not reactive taxes. We call for a national pact for fiscal balance, economic competitiveness and public-private partnership! The National Confederation for Women's Entrepreneurship (CONAF) expresses its deep concern about the direction announced by the package of fiscal-budgetary measures, as well as the inconsistencies in the 2025-2028 Government Program. At a critical moment for Romania's stability, the proposed measures risk eroding the business milieu and undermining trust in the state and social cohesion. We understand the budgetary constraints and the obligations assumed at European level, but we reject the logic in which momentary accounting solutions replace deep and coherent reforms," CONAF stated in a release sent to AGERPRES on Thursday.
According to the cited source, the increase in VAT (from 19% to 21%, respectively from 9% and 5% to 11%), the increase in excise duties, the over-taxation of dividends and the introduction of social insurance contributions for pensions over 3,000 lei are measures that, in the absence of a strategy to modernize the fiscal system, look like a hasty amputation, not "like a cure for the disease".
"Instead of combating evasion and stimulating the formal economy through digitalization and efficiency, the Government is hitting precisely the actors who legally support the national budget: small and medium-sized enterprises, active employees and fair investors. Without predictability, fairness and fiscal transparency, Romania will not attract investments. On the contrary - we risk economic stagnation, capital migration and a decrease in domestic consumption", warns the confederation.
In this context, for a real balance between fiscal sustainability and economic growth, CONAF proposes a predictable calendar for any fiscal change, with real consultation of the business milieu, a moratorium on over-taxation of SMEs for the period 2025-2026, in support of the post-crisis recovery and a National Pact for Indigenous Capital, with real incentives for employment, investment and access to credit.
Also, the reorganization of state-owned companies and the public apparatus, before imposing any pressure on the private sector, the creation of a National Council for Public-Private Dialogue, for fiscal policies built together, not imposed unilaterally and the reform of local administration and the reorientation of European funds according to efficiency, impact and co-financing capacity are other proposals of the businesswomen.
Romania needs economic leadership, not crisis accounting, believe the women entrepreneurs.
"We appreciate the voice of specialists who, with honesty and responsibility, choose to explain the complexity of the moment we are going through. As Gabriel Biris, an expert in tax consultancy, recently emphasized, the painful measures adopted in these days come after a period of budgetary disorder and fiscal populism, and the alternative - financial collapse through sovereign downgrade and blocking of European funds - was unthinkable for a European Romania. But these measures - no matter how necessary - cannot remain alone on the stage. You cannot build a competitive economy only through accounting adjustments and tax increases. As Biris emphasizes, the only authentic path to recovery is to stimulate domestic production, attract direct investment and reduce tax evasion through professionalism, determination and solidarity. This is also the position of CONAF: without a real increase in GDP, based on work, innovation, education and investment in human capital, Romania will not be able to respect its European commitments and maintain its internal cohesion. We ask the Government to urgently review the fiscal calendar and open a genuine dialogue with economic partners. Entrepreneurs are not a source of deficit - they are a solution for recovery", CONAF transmits.
The National Confederation for Women's Entrepreneurship (CONAF) is the most relevant confederation in Romania that campaigns for the efficiency of the dialogue with the authorities, collaboration for the development of public policies that lead to sustainable economic growth and supports entrepreneurs, recognizing their merits.
CONAF represents the largest entity of this kind in Romania, an organization that supports and promotes Romanian entrepreneurship, an unprecedented thing that opens horizons of collaboration and cooperation both domestically and internationally.
CONAF was created as a result of the need to create a modern, sustainable and equitable entrepreneurial culture, not only for female entrepreneurship, but also for the entire business environment. CONAF has 30 branches, two federations, 12 employers' associations, 38 associations and over 5,500 companies, over 245,000 employees.
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