AUR accuses the Government led by Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan of having introduced “a new form of legal fiscal engineering”, whereby Romanians are burdened “illegally and disproportionately” with higher taxes on property and cars.
In a press release sent on Monday, the party led by George Simion claims that the new measures raise “serious problems of constitutionality, European law and respect for the fundamental principles of taxation”.
According to AUR, in the case of local car taxes, the increases are not only direct, but also include an additional component presented as a “penalty for pollution”.
This tax would apply regardless of whether the vehicle is in use or not, including when the car remains parked in a garage. The party's representatives state that the situation would be equivalent to double taxation for the same generating fact, pollution, which would be inadmissible from a legal point of view.
The AUR also claims that this component has the nature of a sanction, and double or multiple sanctioning for the same deed is prohibited in both fiscal and criminal law.
GOLD: Triple penalty for the same alleged act: pollution
In addition, the application of a “penalty for pollution” in the absence of actual use of the motor vehicle would violate the principles of proportionality and predictability of the law, as enshrined in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union.
In this context, the AUR invoked Articles 20 and 148 of the Constitution, arguing that such a rule should be removed from application.
“We remind you of an essential fact: Romanians already pay for pollution through the excise duty included in the fuel price. Out of an average price of approximately 7.5 lei per liter, no less than 3 lei is the excise duty, and together with VAT, more than half of the fuel price goes to the state. In addition, for older cars, the pollution tax was also paid at the time of purchase, later declared illegal by the CJEU. Thus, we have an almost unique case in the European Union of triple sanctioning for the same alleged act: pollution”, states the AUR press release.
The criticism of the formation led by George Simion also targets local property taxes, which, according to AUR, have been significantly increased since January 1.
Local decisions, challenged in court, supports AUR
For personal homes, the increases would reach up to 80%, there are cases where taxes have doubled or even tripled, and in the case of SMEs, the increases would be up to ten times higher. The party believes that these measures represent “a direct attack on the economic environment” and create the risk of chain bankruptcies.
The situation would be aggravated, according to the AUR, by the transfer of the collection of local taxes to ANAF, starting from January 1, 2026. The AUR claims that, from the statements of some mayors, it follows that the local authorities no longer effectively control the collection of these revenues, the central state being the one that decides the timing and conditions of the transfer of the amounts.
The party states that this practice affects the local autonomy guaranteed by the Constitution and contravenes the legislation in force on local public finances.
AUR states that its local elected representatives will challenge in court the decisions of the local councils by which property and car taxes were increased, citing reasons of illegality and unconstitutionality. At the same time, the party declares that it supports the collective legal actions of the affected citizens and entrepreneurs.
What new taxes came into force from 1 January 2026
Monday, January 5, is the first day when Romanians can pay their taxes at ANAF offices in the country. They are increased, both for the population and for companies.
On Monday morning, the Ghișeul.ro tax payment website, managed by the Authority for Digitization of Romania (ADR), is unavailable for some users.
This happens because of the databases with the payment rates, not updated by the town halls, says, for the HotNews audience, the president of ADR, Dragoș Vlad.
The second package of fiscal measures adopted by the Bolojan Government, which provides for the increase in taxes, entered into force on January 1, 2026. For example, Romanians will pay up to 3 times higher taxes for housing or land.
The car tax will also increase and will also be paid for full-electric cars, which were exempt until now.
What new taxes come into effect from 1 January 2026. Top ten tax changes brought by the Bolojan Government's package 2
In addition, if until now, cars were taxed according to the cylinder capacity, from the beginning of 2026 the pollution norm will also count, the “polluter pays” principle being invoked. Six groups of cylinders are provided, and the tax is calculated by multiplying a fixed amount related to the group by a standard unit taken as 200 cc. This fixed amount also varies according to the pollution norm.
Local councils may set different levels to the national base, so tax rates may differ from county to county.
