“The excise tax is an important element to achieve the budget deficit target and any decision on exemptions for transport or for large trucks would create a fiscal gap that would need to be offset with strong measures so that the budget objective for this year as well as for next year could be achieved,” said Andrea Schaechter, IMF mission chief for Romania.
Romania on Tuesday introduced a new excise duty of EUR0.07 per liter of fuel, but announced a partial refund for fuel used in transportation. The government is expected to approve the refund, worth EUR0.04 per liter of fuel, in its tomorrow meeting.
According to government estimates, the new excise tax will likely bring additional revenues to the state budget of some 2.5 billion lei (EUR560 million). On the other hand, the exemption is expected to subtract around RON350 million from the projected revenues.
“Any exemptions should be offset with full fiscal measures so that the deficit target will not be put in jeopardy,” Schaechter told reporters during a conference call.
Romania and the IMF have agreed on a 2014 deficit target of 2.2% of the gross domestic product.