Ruling programme: Population to pay 10 taxes, companies maximum 40, from 2019, VAT to drop

The number of taxes, rates and commissions with general application in Romania will be no higher than 50 as of January 2019, so that the population will only have to pay at least 10 taxes, while the companies will have to pay no more than 40 taxes, according to the 2018-2020 Ruling Programme. 

"We shall simplify the red tape by massively cutting the number of taxes. Starting with 1 January 2019, the number of taxes, rates and commissions (generally applied in Romania) will never exceed 50. So, the population will only have to pay 10 general taxes at the most, of which CASS (health insurance contribution), CAS (pension contribution), income tax, land tax, real estate tax, vehicle tax, etc. All other taxes, rates and commissions will be eliminated or merged. The legal persons will have to pay no more than 40 taxes," says the release. 

Also, as of 1 January 2019 the VAT share will drop to 18pct, from 19pct currently, and the 5pct VAT reduced share will be extended to the sale of dwellings with surface smaller than 120 sqm and for agriculture inputs. 

Moreover, authorities promise that a legislative provision will be enforced through which there will be no tax that cannot be paid online and the number of forms asked by the Fiscal Authority will be cut so that the persons with independent activities will have to submit only one form, and the SMEs 5 forms per year.

The new variant of the ruling programme comes back with the idea of drafting an Economic Code that is to include the Tax Code, the Tax Procedure Code, the Law of Establishment of Commercial Companies, the Tax Evasion Law and all of the other economic laws that are to be debated this year in the Parliament. 

The main macroeconomic indicators in the document show a budget deficit of under 3pct of the GDP, a public debt below 60pct of the GDP and an economic growth to go over 5.5pct.

Agerpres