The fiscal policy is one of the main strategic directions on AmCham Romania’s agenda and the answers of the 128 member companies participating in the survey confirm the observations and recommendations submitted by AmCham to decision-makers in the fiscal sector.
The advantages of the fiscal policy include the flat tax, which still is the most appreciated competitive advantage provided by Romania, according to 75% of respondents, being followed by the 5% tax on dividends, according to 70% of respondents. Fiscal incentives, deemed favourable by 60% of participants in the survey, but which can become a disadvantage for investors on lack of implementation due to immateriality or difficulties practiced, despite being an element that could contribute to consolidating one of the most valuable industries – the software industry. Harmonization of tax laws with EU tax laws, deemed by 58% of respondents as a factor of stability and predictability. The legislation regarding the holding-type system is appreciated by 30% of respondents.
The shortcomings of the tax legislation include the low attractiveness of tax incentives (64%), namely, the incentives for research-development-innovation activities, only on paper, without being actually implemented, despite insistence form the businesspeople and despite the benefits they would bring to Romania. The hasty adoption of fiscal measures, as a matter of urgency, economically unjustified and non-transparent, such as government emergency decree no. 114/2018, is seen by over 61% of respondents as the main shortcoming which affects the confidence in investments in Romania. Failure to harmonize tax and accounting laws in due time is cited by 57% of companies. Failure to cap social security contributions (CAS) and social health insurance contributions (CASS) keeps the top spot among deficiencies, with 52%, as businesspeople actually called for a fair correlation of the value and quality of the healthcare services insured people can access for and on behalf of the contributions they pay.
A high percentage of respondents (over 80%) spoke about the lack of cooperation and even aggressiveness of tax authorities whose remediation is only possible through digitalization, which is bound to reduce the direct interaction between authorities and taxpayers, and with tax regulator ANAF taking on the role of taxpayer prevention and education.
The measures recommended to improve the tax legislation are as follows: the predictability of the process of adopting tax policy measures (82%); transparency and fiscal policy stability (76%); reducing tax evasion through digitalization and other measures aimed at cracking down on tax evasion (72%); modernizing tax authority ANAF (61%) and the strategy stimulating added value investments.
AmCham Romania carried out the survey among member companies, between July and August 2019, in order to assess their perception regarding the main fiscal policy measures and the way in which they affect the investment-related decisions and the ways of doing business.
AmCham Romania has over 450 members, consisting of U.S., multinational and Romanian companies, and operates through specialized workgroups, such as capital markets and financial services, corporate governance, competition and state aid, energy, taxation, EU funds, public procurement and public-private partnership, digital economy, Future of Work, environment, real-estate and tourism.