At the beginning of autumn, Foreign Investors Council (FIC) member companies were confident in the positive evolution of the economy and in managing the pandemic situation, but in the last 2 months confidence has deteriorated rapidly and the elements of stability are eroded by decisions taken without a sustainable economic vision, FIC officials said.
FIC noted the possible future pressures on the budget and suggested some measures to recover and stimulate the economy, such as encouraging foreign investment, by creating and implementing a vision through which Romania can attract investments with high added value and attracting European funds available to Romania through both the PNRR and the multiannual financial framework.
”FIC is concerned about the possible introduction of new taxes, such as solidarity tax, as it is an axiom that higher taxes should not be applied in times of crisis because they would slow down the growth of the economy which is in a period of recovery from losses caused by the pandemic.As every year the state budget is drafted without reforms and in the face of the same dilemma, revenues are too low for ever-increasing expenditures despite the fact that no significant investment has been planned or made.
”We believe that budgetary challenges can be solved through a series of measures that do not require additional financial effort from large companies who are already contributing the most to the State budget, and for which the VAT collection is the highest; measures including the possibility of increasing budget revenues through mechanisms that increase voluntary compliance and improve collection through the digitization of ANAF,” said FIC officials.
They added that the introduction of taxes in a timely manner, although not a singular case, without an analysis of both the direct impact and the compatibility of European legislation and possible subsequent reactions, instead of stimulating the economy to generate additional revenue to the budget, penalizes exactly those segments of companies that comply and have managed to perform in restrictive sanitary conditions. Most of the time, making such decisions without a real consultation with the business environment, without a transparent dialogue and a reasonable period of adjustment will not have the expected effect, and the negative impact on Romania’s image are very difficult to regain.
”The sentiment of confidence of our members in the last year has had a positive trend, despite the health context and restrictions in force, precisely because there has been transparency and predictability on the Romanian fiscal system that we risk losing now. Therefore, FIC believes that the stability of the tax system, predictability, but especially public consultation and a careful analysis of the impact of decisions to be taken in this area will be able to create an economic environment that stimulates growth in a sustainable way.”