PM Ciolacu: Romania's tax legislation resembles a huge funnel
Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu says that Romania's fiscal legislation resembles "a huge funnel through which billions of euros flow unhindered."
The statement was made on Friday at the National Bank at the release of the Tax Institute and the presentation of the study "Amendments to the new Fiscal Code: Inventory and impact (2015 - 2023)."
The prime minister said that one of the conclusions of the study is that over 550 amendments to the Tax Code occurred over the last eight years under more than a hundred laws, ordinances and emergency ordinances.
"It is no longer possible to operate efficiently under such circumstances. It is obvious that today all our tax legislation resembles a huge funnel through which billions of euros flow unimpeded in a system of abnormal tax exempts. We cannot wish for a European country with an offshore economy type of incomes, that is a tax haven country, but with expenses like in the European social model. We have reached the absurd situation where Romania has the heaviest labour taxation on those on low incomes and families with children in the European Union. At the same time, very low taxation has been maintained, with huge tax privileges, for certain categories of taxpayers who earn a lot. Something like that, from my point of view, cannot continue," said Ciolacu.
He added that it is necessary to introduce a tax system based on equity, fairness and respect for the honest taxpayers who pay their taxes correctly and total intolerance towards tax evaders.
"I will take responsibility for a tax reform that includes a large part of the extremely correct principles of those who carried out this study. Our goal is not to discourage investment. On the contrary, we come up with provisions that exempt from any form of taxation money invested by Romanian companies. We will support and protect start-ups. We are willing to help production and processing in Romania through all possible mechanisms. What I will not tolerate, however, is simple: fraud, money made by companies that have only one employee, a computer and issue invoices, because it is clear that there is only a disguised employment contract to avoid paying labour taxes. We will no longer allow hidden and outsourced profits, tax optimisations.. (...)," said the prime minister.
He added that the government will take responsibility before Parliament for a package of spending cuts to combat evasion and eliminate as many exceptions as possible.
"There will come a time, next year, when we will have to take responsibility together - that's why I congratulate this initiative - for a real tax reform of Romania as a country that is no longer just a developing country, but a stable, developed country that will join the OECD and that has to follow normal fiscal logic. Until then, I do not take responsbility for one thing: leaving Romania without European funds, leaving Romania outside Europe, with all the political costs that I will have to bear. I cannot take responsibility for that. It would mean the biggest disaster for Romania. We have no other way but inside the European Union," added the prime minister.
Ciolacu went on to say that taxation has to be discussed responsibly with expert studies on the table, in a rigorous and respected framework, such as that of the National Bank of Romania. He said that such discussions should not be conducted in televised populist debates with petty approaches, in which characters who earn millions of euros annually pay as much taxes as an employee earning the minimum wage.
"And they cry that they raise their taxes", added Ciolacu.
He also said that he will take into account "solidly argued" criticism from which solutions can be derived.
Comentează