Public institutions located in buildings in the state’s private property, administered by RA-APPS, have been required to pay taxes on their headquarters since this summer, as per a government decision, introduced after RA-APPS complained it was having difficulty coping with its expenses.
Until that time, the authority had covered the bills for buildings rented to public institutions and officials from its own sources of revenue, at a cost of 5 million lei (EUR1.14 million) each month. The money was transferred to the public institutions from the state budget and then to RA-APPS, which paid the local budget.
“The transfer of these funds from the state budget to the local budget has no economic grounds, therefore RA-APPS shall again be exempt from paying local taxes for its administered properties. This exemption has been provided before by the Tax Code of 2006,” says the ordinance.
The act also states that, although ministries have been required to pay these taxes for more than a year, some public institutions are unable to pay these property taxes because their allowances for this purpose from the state budget are insufficient. The Ministry of Finance, called in to clear up the situation, said it has no authority in the matter.
Consequently, the ordinance on the sale of RA-APPS buildings will also amend the Tax Code to say that no taxes are owed for buildings in the state’s private domain and administered by RA-APPS. The authority will also be exempt from paying taxes on the land on which the buildings are located.
A Government decision approved last year said the buildings administered by RA-APPS would be used by ministries and other public authorities, with the rental costs to include local taxes. Despite this, according to a government document obtained by MEDIAFAX at the time, 36 ministries, government agencies and other public institutions had refused to pay local taxes on the properties they occupied, in the amount of RON554 and RON60,000 per month, citing the lack of funds.
These institutions included the Ministry of Finance (with a total rental cost of RON1,907 per month), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (RON5,991), Ministry of Labor (RON1,191), Ministry of Agriculture (RON1,105), Ministry of Economy (RON60,141), Ministry of Culture (RON554), tax regulator ANAF (RON2,190), Antifraud Department (1,682), National Office for the Prevention of Money Laundering (RON15,479), Bucharest Territorial Labor Inspectorate (RON3,677), General Police Department (RON641), National Energy Regulations Authority (RON1,926).
The list also included the Romanian Revolution Institute (RON4,580), Agency for Agriculture Payments and Intervention (RON10,976), European Institute (RON2,242), National Mineral Resources Agency (RON6,150), Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes (RON8,096), Standing Electoral Authority (RON623), National School of Political and Administrative Studies (RON718), State Secret Intelligence Office (RON27,212), Competition Council (RON28,101), National Anti-Discrimination Council (RON1,876).
(EUR1=RON4.3598)