VAT collections grew both in nominal terms and as a share in the gross domestic product (GDP) in January-June 2021, compared with the same period in 2020, and with 2019, when the economy was booming.
“The evolution compared with the same period in 2020 is explicable, given the economic deadlock in the second quarter of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, considering the overall evolution of the economy, the consumption will most likely exceed the GDP dynamics, at least in the first half of 2021”, Raluca Baldea, Partner within the Indirect Tax Department of Deloitte Romania, told Ziarul Financiar.
In nominal terms, VAT collections reached RON36 billion in January-June 2021, higher by RON6 billion than in the same period in 2019 and higher by RON10 billion than in the first six months of 2020.
The accelerated consumption growth, reflected in VAT collections, brings along imbalances which will ultimately be settled by consumers. As a share in the GDP, VAT collections stood at 3.1%, similar with the level in 2017, but lower than in 2015 and 2016, when VAT collections reached 4.2% and 3.5% of GDP, respectively. In 2015, Romania lowered the standard VAT rate to 19% from 24%.