The government has decided to have foreign tax specialists and experts of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) instruct Romanian tax inspectors to this end.
The idea of checking up on high wealth individuals came after the country’s tax authority ANAF sent letters of amiable notification, according to the country’s latest letter of intent to the International Monetary Fund, obtained by Mediafax.
Checkups started in the first half of 2013 based on a Government decision of December 2010 whereby individuals whose real income exceeds their declared income by at least 50,000 lei (EUR11,213) will pay 16% of the difference as tax.
Earlier this year, the government had drawn up a list of 30 people with large wealth suspected of exceeding the “minimum acceptable risk” by not paying their taxes. The government initially targeted a group of 300-400 individuals who allegedly failed to pay their dues to the state budget.
Romania and the IMF have signed a two-year EUR3.6 billion loan agreement in 2011, successor to a larger EUR13 billion deal secured in 2009. The program was initially due for completion in April this year, but the government has requested a three-month extension to meet the IMF requirements. The IMF Board is expected to review Romania’s performance under the stand-by agreement at the end of June.
A positive review of Romania’s program could open the way for a new agreement with the IMF, whereas a negative assessment would mean that the country’s loan program would expire de facto. (EUR1=RON4.4590)