Gov't to approve payment facilities for outstanding budget debt after state of alert establishment

The government is to approve by emergency ordinance payment facilities for outstanding budget debts accrued after the date of the establishment of the state of emergency,managed by the central fiscal body, after the Minister of Public Finance informed the government meeting that the project will be on the additional agenda of the government meeting.

"It will be on the additional agenda. Let me tell you some of the measures included in the normative act - for it is a more ample ordinance. Payment facilities for outstanding budget debts after the date of the establishment of the state of emergency, managed by the central fiscal body. It is possible that some of the companies have accumulated outstanding budget debts during this period, and now we come up with this facility. The exemption from paying the specific tax is also here ... following the discussions we had together," Minister Florin Citu told the government meeting on Thursday.

The Minister specified that for the HORECA field a facility will be ready by the end of the year.

"For HORECA we will have a facility by the end of the year. This means that throughout 2020 the HORECA domain was exempted from paying the specific tax," Citu said.

He also said that the draft GEO provides for "granting the possibility to local public authorities to adopt decisions on the reduction of the building tax or exemptions from the payment of the building tax."

"We are also extending this - extending the deadlines for submitting the notification on the intention to restructure tax liabilities and the deadlines for submitting the restructuring application provided by government ordinance 6/2019 on the establishment of tax facilities, and we extend some deadlines because there are companies that can still benefit from it, some of which have come out of insolvency," Citu explained.

The Minister also referred to the fiscal facilities granted for the preparation, organisation and development of the final tournament of the European Football Championship 2020.

"Tax facilities are also granted for the preparation, organisation and conduct of the final tournament of the European Football Championship 2020, postponed following the reconfirmation of the guarantee of number 0534 of April 18, 2014 by the Ministry of Public Finance through the Minister of Public Finance. So we had to do this as well," said Citu.

The Minister also referred to "a regulation of the tax regime applicable to expenses incurred during the establishment of the state of emergency or alert, according to law, with medical tests for diagnosing COVID-19 infection, borne by the employer, payer, for individuals earning income from salaries and assimilated to salaries or by natural persons who determine the annual net income."

"Today, in the Fiscal Code, the expense with these tests made by employers was seen as an income for employees and had to be taxed and then we regulate the Fiscal Code so that it is no longer seen in this way," the Minister said.