The 2nd package of fiscal measures adopted by the Parliament on Tuesday includes a series of new rules for companies, including regarding social capital, dividends, crypto transactions, but also short-term housing rentals.
Among the main measures in the document approved in Parliament are:
- raising the minimum share capital for new companies to 500 lei, and to 5,000 lei for those with a turnover of over 400,000 lei;
- increasing tax on crypto transactions, from 10% to 16%. Earnings below the level of 200 lei/transaction are not taxed, provided that the total earnings in a fiscal year do not exceed the level of 600 lei;
- increasing the calculation base of CASS to 72 gross minimum wages per country for self-employment income;
- the introduction of new criteria based on which companies can be declared inactive;
- drastically limit deductible expenses for multinationals and increase taxes on certain investment and cryptocurrency income, but also local taxes.
- tax procedures are getting tougher: companies that have been inactive for a year are dissolved, payment schedules become more restrictive, and companies are required to have a bank account and accept payment by card.
- 25 lei fee for parcels under 150 euros ordered from non-EU platforms, such as Temu or Shein.
Obligation of companies to have a bank account
Legal entities are required to hold a payment account in Romania or at a State Treasury unit. For newly established legal entities, the opening of the account is carried out within a maximum period of sixty working days from the date of establishment.
Minimum social capital of 500 lei for the establishment of SRL
From the date of entry into force of the law, the minimum value of the social capital of limited liability companies is established according to the level of the net turnover reported through the annual financial statements related to the previous financial year, respectively in the case of companies that registered a net turnover over 400,000 lei, the minimum value of the social capital is 5,000 lei.
In the case of newly established limited liability companies, the minimum value of the share capital is 500 lei.
The minimum value of the share capital is increased until the end of the financial year following the one in which the increase in the net turnover reported through the annual financial statements of the previous financial year is noted.
When can the taxpayer/payer be declared inactive
The Taxpayer/Payer, a legal person, is declared inactive and the provisions of the Fiscal Code regarding the effects of inactivity are applicable to him, if he is in one of the following situations:
a) does not have a payment account in Romania or an account opened at a State Treasury unit;
b) did not submit the annual financial statements within 5 months of the legal deadline for their submission.
If a taxpayer/payer declared inactive does not reactivate within one year from the date on which it was declared inactive, it is dissolved.
Short-term housing rental
Income from the provision of accommodation services is considered the income obtained by the economic operators defined according to the legislation specific to the field of tourism – taxpayers according to this title, by making available a space arranged for the purpose of overnight stays for a determined period, measured in days.
The annual net income from the provision of accommodation services is determined by deducting from the gross income the expenses determined by applying the flat rate of 30% on the gross income. Gross income represents the total amount in money and/or the equivalent in lei of income in kind, received during the fiscal year.
Gross income does not include the commission retained by entities that facilitate the short-term rental of rooms located in privately owned dwellings, including electronic interfaces such as an online market, platform, portal or other similar means.
If the amounts are collected in foreign currency, their equivalent in lei is determined by using the exchange rate communicated by the National Bank of Romania on the last banking day prior to collection.
Income from the provision of accommodation services, realized in a fraction of a year or in different periods representing fractions of the same year, is considered annual income.
The annual tax due is calculated by applying the 10% rate on the annual net income, the tax being final.
Tax on crypto transactions to increase from 10% to 16%
In the case of income from the transfer of virtual currency, the income tax due is calculated by the taxpayer, based on the single declaration on income tax and social contributions owed by natural persons by applying the 16% rate on the gain from the transfer of virtual currency, determined as the positive difference between the sale price and the purchase price, including the direct costs related to the transaction.
Earnings below the level of 200 lei/transaction are not taxed, provided that the total earnings in a fiscal year do not exceed the level of 600 lei.
Income in the form of gains from the transfer of securities and from operations with derivative financial instruments are imposed by withholding tax as follows:
a) in the case of securities:
(i) by applying a rate of 3% on each gain from the transfer of securities that were acquired and disposed of in a period longer than 365 days, inclusive, from the date of acquisition;
(ii) by applying a rate of 6% on each gain from the transfer of securities that were acquired and disposed of in a period less than 365 days from the date of acquisition;
b) in the case of operations with derivative financial instruments:
(i) by applying a rate of 3% on each gain from carrying out operations with derivative financial instruments held for a period greater than 365 days, inclusive, from the date of acquisition;
(ii) by applying a rate of 6% on each gain from carrying out operations with derivative financial instruments held for a period less than 365 days from the date of acquisition.
To determine the period in which they were held, it is considered that the securities and financial instruments are sold/redeemed in the same order in which they were acquired, respectively first in – first out, for each symbol.
New rules for companies that distribute dividends
Companies that distribute quarterly dividends cannot grant loans to shareholders or associates, as the case may be, or other affiliated persons, as defined according to the applicable accounting regulations, until the differences resulting from the distribution of dividends during the year are settled.
The companies that, based on the annual financial statements, approved according to the law, have a net asset value reduced to less than half of the value of the subscribed share capital cannot return the loans taken from them to the shareholders or associates, as the case may be, or to other affiliated persons, as defined according to the applicable accounting regulations.
In the case of non-compliance with the prohibition, joint and several liability of the company and the shareholder/associate who benefited from the payment of interim dividends, without being regularized, or to whom loans were returned even though the company had net assets below the limit provided by law, is ordered.
The company, together with the shareholders/associates, are jointly and severally liable for the outstanding budgetary obligations owed by the company and administered by the central fiscal body, within the limits of the amounts that were the object of the loan granted, respectively returned.
Non-compliance by companies with the prohibition constitutes a contravention and is sanctioned with a fine from 10,000 lei to 200,000 lei, by the persons with attributions in this regard, within the National Agency for Fiscal Administration established by order of the president of the National Agency for Fiscal Administration.
Payment scheduling
New conditions for installment payments are regulated, in a simplified form. In the case of legal entities, only those that were established at least 12 months before the submission of the application will be able to benefit from the simplified scheduling.
Payment deferment is granted for:
- a) the main and accessory fiscal obligations of natural persons in a total amount between 500 – 100,000 lei;
- b) the main and accessory fiscal obligations of associations without legal personality in a total amount between 2,000 – 100,000 lei;
- c) the main and accessory fiscal obligations of legal entities in a total amount between 5,000 – 400,000 lei.
Regarding the minimum turnover tax (MCT), it will remain in place as it is now. A mechanism that the executive had prepared to replace IMCA, limiting the deductibility of some expenses, will instead be applied only to companies with businesses under 50 million euros, which have not entered and will not enter in the future under the minimum turnover tax.
