The main change the New Fiscal code brings is the reduction of the general VAT level from 24 percent at present to 19 percent starting January 1, 2016, said finance minister Eugen Teodorovici.
“The Fiscal Code will bring about extremely important changes for the economy, the most significant – both because of its importance and its budgetary impact next year – being the VAT cut to 19 percent. Romania had one of the highest VAT levels in Europe and now it boasts one of the lowest. The budgetary impact this measure will have stands at about RON 12 billion (e.n. approximately EUR 2.7 billion), money which will be left in the economy (…),” said Teodorovici, according to Mediafax.
He added that implementing the code will “lead to a larger deficit that the one we have committed to, but a deficit that will be below the Maastricht 3 percent level”.
Other changes include cutting the VAT level for food products to 9 percent, the elimination of the EUR 0.07 excise tax for fuels, the elimination of the tax on special constructions and an increase in local taxes.
While some MPs commented that the two code drafts can still be improved, all parliamentary groups said they will support them as they “represent a step forward” and “they ensure predictability”, according to Mediafax.
Some 450 amendments to the initial Fiscal Code draft were passed while 350 were rejected, according to Viorel Stefan, the president of the budgetary commission. (source: business-review.eu)
