The employers are attacking the tax increases announced by Ilie Bolojan: “Again the private environment and the citizens will wear the burden”

Concordia Patronal Confederation said on Wednesday, in a press release, “that it expresses deep concern and dissatisfaction with the package of fiscal measures announced by the Romanian Prime Minister.”

“Although we understand the imperative of budgetary balancing and the urgency of managing the record deficit, we find with disappointment that again the private environment and citizens will carry the main burden of these measures,” said Concordia.

The organization claims “an aggressive over -taxation of the private sector” and argues that the package announced by Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan on Wednesday “represents a new blow to the business environment through measures that cumulate and amplify each other.”

“The solution cannot again be over -taxing the private environment and citizens”

Concordia Confederation says about the “dramatic growth” of VAT, increasing the tax on dividends, increasing excise duty on fuel, alcohol and cigarettes, as well as about the overwhelming of banks' profits that will be transferred, affecting consumers and reducing purchasing power, which will lead to an economic contraction.

“In addition, we draw attention to the fact that the package of measures was designed and announced without prior consultation with the business environment. The social partners were not involved in the elaboration of these measures, although their effects will be directly affected by thousands of companies and hundreds of thousands of jobs,” the statement said.

Confederation Concordia says that it understands “the need to balance the budget” and recognizes “the severity of the inherited fiscal situation”.

“However, the solution cannot again be over -taxing the private environment and citizens, who have demonstrated resilience and the ability to generate revenues for the national budget, even in the most difficult periods,” notes Concordia.

The employer confederation claims that “the Romanian business environment has wore this economy behind for decades and continued to contribute massively to the national budget.”

“It is not correct for us again to be those who pay the price of the necessary reforms, while the structural reforms of the budgetary apparatus remain superficial. We recognize the administrative experience of Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan and we understand the urgency of measures. However, the chosen approach again puts a disproportionate burden on the private sector, which is already over the region,” Continued the Concordia Patronal Confederation.

Requests of the Concordia Patron Confederation

• Urgent and transparent consultations with all representative employers' organizations before the final adoption of these measures, to identify more balanced alternatives;
• Real evaluation of the cumulative impact of these measures on the economic competitiveness and the ability of companies to maintain their operations and jobs;
• A credible program to reduce the public spending that is proportional to the effort requested by the private sector and to prove that the reforms are applied equitably throughout the economy;
• Transition periods appropriate for the implementation of measures, to allow companies to gradually adapt to the new fiscal conditions;
• The urgent reform of ANAF in order to solve the problem of tax evasion;
• A clear term for eliminating measures that produce economic distortions, that is, again, predictability;
• Starting the discussions in order to identify the most appropriate measures to support the economic return.

“Romania needs reforms, but they must be balanced and durable. The business environment cannot continue to carry the burden of a national economy alone, while the structural inefficiencies of the state remain unresolved. We request clear and immediate consultations to find solutions that do not compromise the economic future of Romania,” Concordera concluded.

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