Investments are the main solution to unlocking the economy and boosting competitiveness — not introducing new taxes, which do nothing to support investment decisions, says Volker Raffel, CEO of E.ON Romania.
”Romania’s electricity and natural gas distribution networks require additional annual investments of approximately €1.1 billion, according to a study conducted by Valorem for Federația Asociațiilor Companiilor de Utilități din Energie (ACUE). The industry and ANRE are currently discussing the topic. If we manage to create the right framework, we can invest these amounts, with small increases in the distribution tariff, which come along with better integration of renewable energy – further reducing the average cost of energy – and Romania could benefit from an annual economic impact of up to €10.6 billion, both direct and indirect. We are therefore talking about a substantial GDP growth, with a multiplier effect of 1 to 10”, says Raffel, on his LinkedIn page.
The message was shared during a recent meeting with members of AHK Romania (Romanian-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry), where the guest speaker was Prof. Dr. Daniel Daianu, President of the Fiscal Council.
At the same time, the General Director of AHK Romania, Sebastian Metz, showed that it is important for Romania to initiate reforms, reduce bureaucracy and support increased competitiveness at all levels, and for this, investments are needed, especially in several essential sectors, such as education, research, energy or transport.
“Only by investing in areas that produce economic growth can tax revenues be generated, which in turn will stabilize the budget situation in a sustainable way,” explained Metz. He also noted that the difference between capital and labor taxation in Romania is relatively large, and future intentions regarding changes in tax policy should not place an additional burden especially on the labor factor. And, in principle, it is absolutely essential that changes in tax policy are made in close consultation with the business environment, which is under enormous pressure due to the current political and economic situation.
“We are currently going through an extremely sensitive period. Small mistakes can have big consequences. We need a lot of mutual understanding and communication in Romania to overcome the current challenges,” said Metz.
