Offshore Bill Modified By MP Committee, Sets Higher Tax Rates For Additional Income
Romanian Lower Chamber MPs modified on Tuesday several provisions of the pending bill which regulates Black Sea offshore exploitations, changing the manner in which investors’ additional income is taxed.
The combined committees for Economics, Industry, Budget and Public Administration reviewed the bill on Tuesday, following a re-examination request made by President Klaus Iohannis, and following the bill being passed by the country’s Senate.
The committees passed a series of proposals made by MPs of the ruling Social Democrat Party, which see a higher percentage of tax applied to additional income from offshore exploitations, on different taxing categories.
The initial bills sees a progressive taxation system for the additional income, according to its price range. Unchanged from the bill, all income received from gas sold at prices lower than or equal to 85 RON per Mwh would be taxed at a 15% rate, while that obtained from an 86-115 RON/Mwh price range remained at 15%.
However, tax rates were upped by between 10 and 20% for almost all of the other pricing categories. For income obtained with prices higher than 100 but lower or equal to 115 RON/Mwh, the tax amount was raised from 20 to 30%. Changes were also made for the segments of : 115-130 RON/Mwh, which was upped to 35% from the initial 25, 130-145 RON/Mwh which grew to 40% from 30 and 145-160 RON/Mwh which rose to 50% from 35%. The two highest fixed taxation levels set by the bill, for income made on prices between 160-175 RON/Mwh and 175-190 RON/Mwh, were also risen, to 55% from 40% for the former, and to 60% from 45% to the latter. (romanialibera.ro)
Romgaz Extends Mandate Of Its General Manager By Four Years
The Board of Directors of Romania’s largest natural gas producer Romgaz Medias (SNG.RO) has approved a decision to extend for four years the duration of mandate contract of the company’s Chief Executive Officer Adrian Volintiru.
“The Board of Directors of S.N.G.N. Romgaz S.A. appoints Mr. Volintiru Constantin Adrian as Chief Executive Officer of S.N.G.N. Romgaz S.A. for a period of 4 years,” the company said in an announcement on the stock market.
Adrian Volintiru has been filling this position since June 2018, while also holding the position of executive member of Romgaz Board, which he had also held between May 2013 and June 2014.
Between 2000 and 2006, Volintiru had held various management positions within Rompetrol Group.
Romgaz, with a market capitalization of RON13.1 billion, plans to boost its investment budget by 40% in 2018, up to RON1.6 billion.
Romgaz also expects a slight decrease in turnover, from RON4.58 billion in 2017 to RON4.3 billion in 2018. (puterea.ro)
Simona Halep Keeps Fans Updated On Her Health Problems
World No. 1 Simona Halep’s participation in this month’s WTA Finals was thrown into doubt after a scan on Tuesday revealed she had suffered a herniated disc in her back.
French Open champion Halep was injured while training at last week’s Wuhan Open, where she lost in the second round to Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova.
Romanian Halep aggravated the problem during her China Open first-round match on Sunday against Ons Jabeur and was forced to retire after losing the first set.
“I had an MRI on my back and found out I have a disc hernia,” Halep said on Twitter.
“I will discuss with doctors in the next few days but hope to be back soon and will keep you updated.”
Halep, who won her maiden Grand Slam trophy in Paris this year, became the first player to qualify for the season-ending WTA Finals, which take place in Singapore from Oct. 21-28. (romanialibera.ro)
Senate President On Critics From EU: Romania Should Not Accept Being Tutored
The chairman of Romanian ruling coalition party ALDE, Calin Popescu Tariceanu, reacted on Tuesday to concerns voiced by high-ranked EU official Frans Timmermans regarding pending judicial amendments, stating that Romania shouldn’t “accept receiving lessons from others”.
“As far as I’m concerned, I was, am and will be a staunch pro-European, but Romania does not have to accept positioning itself in the role of a student receiving lessons from others. Romania is, after all, an independent country,” said the ALDE and Senate chairman.
Tariceanu added that a number of Romanian politicians continue to expose the country’s problems in Brussels, which he states helps create an embarrassing situation.
“I did not see any other countries where this happens. Some of Romania’s politicians have yet to mature politically and are acting like that,” Tariceanu said.
The European Commissions’ first-vice president, Frans Timmermans, expressed concern with the state of the rule of law in Romania on Monday, with regards to recent judicial amendments passed by the country’s Parliament.
The high-ranked EU official also questioned the procedure which led to the dismissal of the country’s top anticorruption prosecutor, Laura Codruta Kovesi, in July, adding that the European Commission on its whole shares these concerns. (puterea.ro)