The situation of public finances remains fragile and generates concern that the budget deficit target for this year risks not being reached, the reduction of the deficit having to be achieved through a mix of measures that also target the area of budget expenditures and, above all, fiscal administration in order to obtain a higher collection of existing taxes, said the president of the Council of Foreign Investors (FIC), Daniel Anghel, after a meeting of investors with the Minister of Finance and his team.
According to a FIC press release, delivered to AGERPRES on Monday, the Council of Foreign Investors continued the dialogue with the Ministry of Finance, by organizing an event dedicated to fiscal strategy that brought together half of the presidents and financial directors of the FIC members with the Minister of Finance, Marcel Boloş, and his team of at the ministry and the National Fiscal Administration Agency (ANAF).
During the event, investors asked questions regarding the sustainability of the state budget, tax reform, the digitalization of ANAF and the implementation of electronic reporting systems, the impact of the measures adopted last year, the measures to support large investments and to stimulate innovation, research and development, the developments in the international financial markets and the dialogue with the rating agencies, the financing of the health system, according to Agerpres.
“The minister and his team answered all the questions openly and emphasized the importance of the monthly technical discussions with FIC representatives. In addition, the finance minister confirmed that in 2024 no new fees or taxes will be introduced, nor will the existing ones be increased, and supporting large investments through state aid schemes is one of the central themes for the ministry”, the statement says.
FIC members support the strategic approach, in the medium and long term, of key areas, as is the case with the fiscal regime, which must be analyzed from the perspective of the results recorded at the level of collection and contribution to the state budget, but also of economic development and the identification of those elements which must be adjusted and sustainable solutions.
“The situation of public finances remains fragile and generates concern that the budget deficit target for this year risks not being reached. Efforts for fiscal consolidation are essential for the perception of investors, for the fulfillment of the conditionalities of the PNRR and implicitly for the attraction of European funds through this mechanism. As a result, it is very important to see if the measures taken, in this case the fiscal package entered into force this year, have the expected results and what are the future fiscal policies. If the fiscal package does not achieve its objective, the business environment can expect other decisions fiscally. But the reduction of the deficit should be achieved through a mix of measures that also target the area of budget expenditures and, above all, fiscal administration in order to obtain a greater collection of existing taxes. From this perspective, we argue that the reform and the digitization of ANAF remains vital for fiscal consolidation.At the same time, a predictable and stable fiscal framework is necessary for the business environment to make investments with an impact for the economy and, obviously, for the receipts of the state budget. As I have constantly stated, FIC supports the predictability and transparency of public policies, and these meetings with the representatives of the Ministry of Finance are essential for promoting the dialogue with the business environment”, declared the president of FIC, Daniel Anghel.
Since 2019, Romania is in a complicated budgetary context and a balanced approach from the authorities is needed to ensure maintaining the assumed deficit for 2024, says FIC. The presidents and financial leaders of FIC members and MF representatives agreed that, in order to ensure the sustainability of the state budget, measures are needed to support investments with a high added value, improve collection by modernizing the entire architecture of ANAF, and streamline and prioritize service administration expenses public.
“Private investments can make a significant contribution to the economic recovery, but a constant dialogue between the authorities and investors is necessary to set the strategic directions for the economy. (…) It is also important that the business environment be part of the debates with regarding the fiscal reform, and the principles of the new system should be based on predictability, equity, adjustment of imbalances, clarity and reduction of gray areas”, the document also says.
The representatives of FIC and the Minister of Finance concluded that the partnership between FIC and the Ministry of Finance will continue in April with technical discussions regarding fiscal reform and digitalization of ANAF.