Parliament To Vote On Social Security Cut Bill Again
The bill on lowering social security contributions will be put to the vote in Parliament again, Prime Minister Victor Ponta said Thursday.
Ponta said President Traian Basescu will then have to either promulgate the bill or challenge its constitutionality, in which case the measure can be postponed until 2015. (Gandul)
Ponta Announces Officially He Is Running For President
Prime Minister Victor Ponta announced he will be running in the presidential election later this year.
He said he would not have wanted to run against Crin Antonescu and the Liberal Party’s decision to designate Klaus Iohannis as its presidential candidate “took a load off his chest”, Ponta told newspaper Adevarul. (Adevarul)
Banks Withdrew EUR6.8B From Romania In Two Years
Financial institutions took EUR6.8 billion out of Romania between January 2012 and June 2014.
Romania has one of the lowest private lending rates in the GDP.
In a recent blog post, economist Florin Citu said Romanian banks, most of them owned by foreign banks, preferred to withdraw their money from Romania because of a lack of projects worth financing. (Romania Libera)
Construction Sector Tops Illegal Labor Use Chart
Romania’s construction sector is the industry that utilizes the most illegal laborers, as over 300,000 workers, 66% of the total, don’t have work contracts.
One in four people in Romania is working illegally. Although there are over 6 million workers in the country, more than 1.6 million are working illegally, meaning employers pay no taxes on their behalf.
According to a report by the Fiscal Council, while there was significant growth in the number of work contracts with the introduction of the flat tax in 2005 and over one million new jobs were created that year alone, illegal labor expanded afterwards. (Evenimentul Zilei)
Romania TV Manager Alexandru Iacobescu Heard In Tax Evasion Case
Alexandru Iacobescu, manager of Romania TV, was heard Thursday at the Anticorruption Department in a case investigating tax evasion and money laundering.
According to Bursa.ro, which cites anonymous sources, Iacobescu is suspected of shady transactions, money laundering and tax evasion amounting to RON69 million. (Romania Libera)
Cluj-Napoca Is Europe’s Most Welcoming City
Cluj is the most welcoming city in Europe, as 91% of its inhabitants say the presence of foreigners is good for the town, according to a survey on urban living published by Daily Mail.
Of over 41,000 respondents in 79 cities considered in the survey, the average tolerance rate in the EU stood at 73%.
Just 26% of people in the Greek capital of Athens thought foreigners were good for the city. The majority of respondents viewed the presence of foreigners as positive in all but five cities: Athens, Greece; Lefkosia, Cyprus; Liège, Belgium; Irakleio, Greece and Turin, Italy. (Curierul National)