Finance Minister Proposes Tax Amnesty For Private Firms As Well
Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici said Monday evening that private companies should enjoy facilities similar with tax amnesty which are currently proposed for state-run companies.
Tax amnesty is aimed at writing off state companies’ historical debts to make them attractive on the market again, the minister also said.
The minister pointed out the Romanian state also has the approval of the Monetary Fund and the European Commission for the implementation of this mechanism.
Teodorovici added the tax amnesty mechanism applied in 2015 was operational and brought more money to the state budget. (romanialibera.ro)
Romanian PM Presents Six-Month Government Review, Praises Growth In State Budget Income
Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila presented on Monday the official review of her cabinet’s first six months in office, praising a raise in state income and EU fund absorption compared to last year.
The Romanian PM announced on Monday that state budget revenue stood at RON132 billion in the first half of 2018, 12% higher than in the same period last year.
Dancila pointed out that a significant contribution was made by the measure of transferring social security contributions from employers to employees, which brought revenue of RON12.3 billion and a net profit of RON9 billion to the state budget.
She added that both the EU fund absorption rate and public investments were on the rise compared to 2017, which she claimed showed that “investors are not impressed by fake news”. The EU fund absorption rate rose by 19.7% year-on-year in January-June 2018 and public investments were higher by RON3 billion than in the year-earlier periiod.
The Romanian Prime Minister set a goal of reducing the unemployment rate to below 3% of the workforce until 2020, having fallen by more than 0.5% since December of 2017, down to 3.48%.
The Dancila Cabinet took office on January 29, 2018, two weeks after the resignation of former Prime Minister Mihai Tudose. It is Romania’s third cabinet led by the ruling PSD-ALDE coalition since the 2016 parliamentary elections, with the first cabinet of Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu being dismissed following a no-confidence vote on June 29, 2017. (puterea.ro)
Bucharest Mayor Approves Major Diaspora Meeting On August 10
Bucharest general mayor Gabriela Firea on Monday approved a previously rejected meeting scheduled for the Romanian Diaspora in the city on August 10, for which organizers have announced the presence of one million people.
According to a press release issued by the Bucharest Town Hall, Firea doubled down on the previous decision following a meeting with representatives of multiple public order and security institutions, such as the Bucharest Police, the Gendarmerie, the Romanian Intelligence Service and the Emergency Situations Inspectorate.
Her office initially denied authorization for the meeting, reasoning that the number of one million attendants cited by the organizers would pose unsolvable security concerns.
The meeting will be organized by the Federation of Romanians Everywhere and will take place in the now traditional meeting spot for anti-government protests, Bucharest’s Victory Square, in front of the Romanian Government.
According to the statement, several adjacent streets and roads will be closed off gradually depending on the actual number of participants. The meeting will mainly protest judicial reforms pushed by the ruling PSD-ALDE coalition, seen by many critics as weakening the country’s judicial system while favoring corrupt politicians and businessmen.
Romania’s largest manifestations following the fall of communism were also registered against the current ruling coalition, with an estimate of 600,000 throughout the country protesting a government decree modifying judicial laws, at the height of protests which took place in February of 2017. (puterea.ro)