One of the taxation novelties announced on
\nTuesday by the Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici is a cap on natural gas
\nprices for 3 years and making the contribution to privately managed pension
\nfunds optional. This means that the people who have contributed for at least 5
\nyears will now be able to withdraw their funds from the so-called Pension
\nPillar 2, if they choose to, in exchange for a withdrawal fee. The
\nadministration fee for Pillar 2 funds will also be lowered as of next year.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Of the fiscal and budgetary provisions
\nannounced by Minister Teodorovici, the most controversial is the proposed
\nintroduction, as of January 1, 2019, of a so-called tax on greed to be levied
\non banks in case the ROBOR rate, which is the reference indicator in
\ncalculating interest rates on loans, exceed a specific threshold. The impact of
\nthis measure is estimated to range between a rough 700 million euro and zero,
\nif banks keep the ROBOR indicator below the reference level of 1.5%.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
What are the arguments in favour of such a
\nmeasure, and why this deprecating name? The Finance Minister says the new tax
\nshould be rightfully called a tax on greed, insofar as it is designed to
\nprotect the interests of Romanian citizens when banks choose to acquire
\ngovernment bonds, which are safe for them, rather than give out loans and thus
\nfinance real economy. Romania, Teodorovici explained, has the second-highest government
\nbond exposure in the European Union. Also, profit margins in Romania are quite
\nattractive, among the highest in the EU, while bad debts are often transferred
\nto companies in the same holding and sold for much more than the price paid for
\nmaking them. So, Teodorovici went on to say, I always hear that banks are
\ntrustworthy partners and loyal to the economy. But I will only believe that
\nwhen they understand that both partners must stand to gain, that is both the
\nbank providing the funding, and the operators who get the loans.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The National Bank’s strategy adviser Adrian
\nVasilescu quickly responded. I don’t get this tax on greed; deeper
\nphilosophical reflection is required, because I don’t know whose greed we are
\ntalking about. According to Vasilescu, the ROBOR rate is linked to the country
\nas a whole, to its economy and, first and foremost, to inflation. As such, we
\ncannot accuse banks of being greedy when they increase this rate because of
\nirregularities in the economic system, he explained. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
A spokesman for the National Liberal Party in
\nopposition, Ionel Danca, blamed the new tax on the authorities’ thirst for
\nmoney to the public budget, and spoke about the Government’s greed for incomes
\nfrom the taxes paid by companies. Danca warned that the Government is
\ndestroying the most important sectors of the Romanian economy, and that the ferocious
\nover taxation of companies in the energy sector, in telecoms, banking and trade
\nwill backfire, at the expense of the Romanians whose honest work supports the
\nfunctioning of the state.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Romanian Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici announces major changes in the Fiscal Code in 2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":64519,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[32613,39531,29143,39532],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-80044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-robor","tag-romanian-finance-minister-eugen-teodorovici","tag-romanian-fiscal-code","tag-tax-on-greed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n