Nicusor Dan: There is a state of tension in society, many accumulated grievances. Purchasing power has declined / What it says about the risk of tax increases

“There is a state of tension in society, there are many dissatisfactions that have accumulated and then somehow on certain aspects, such as the functioning of the coalition”, said President Nicușor Dan on Thursday evening, in an interview with Digi24, when asked about the tensions in the governing coalition. The head of state also spoke about the economic situation, against the background of the decrease in the purchasing power of Romanians.

Asked about the state of mind of the Romanians at present, the head of state said: “The most important thing is that the purchasing power has decreased. Beyond that, like the media, in public opinion things seem worse than they are. I recently read a survey related to the level of property taxes in Romania compared to the EU, and to the question “do you think that property taxes in Romania are higher or lower than in the EU” many Romanians, between 60% – 70%, said that they are higher large, although in reality they are significantly smaller”.

“There is a state of tension in society, there are many grievances that have accumulated, and then somehow on certain aspects, such as the functioning of the coalition, I think the picture is not perfect,” the president pointed out.

Nicușor Dan was also asked about the economic prospects of Romanians, in the context where there are concerns about the impact of increased taxes and fees and the decrease in purchasing power.

“On many issues we did not have the same opinion as the Government, but we are aligned on the fact that the measures from July-August last year, and the measures that came into force this year were announced and it has been said since then that there will be no more. So far the Government has kept its word and there is no prospect of tax increases. We are better than the deficit reduction target that the Government assumed, there is a reduction in the interest rate with which we we borrow, there is a slightly better collection, so we are better off macro-financially than we estimate. There is no risk of tax increases in the near future,” said the head of state.

Other clarifications from President Dan on taxes

• “Local taxes are a matter of discussion. In a perfect world there should be no taxes or fees, but we are not in a perfect world. People don't see it in their pocket now, but it's a good thing that that tax on the turnover of big companies has been reduced – it means that there is an incentive for big companies to come to Romania, this tax stops them.
• Also, we are in the chart with the OECD, probably in the summer of this year we will enter the OECD. This means a certificate for the fact that Romania is competitive and a new invitation for companies to come to Romania.
• (About property taxes) It was an analysis. All these things are decided at the Government-Parliament level. It was an analysis of the deficit and how we can reduce this deficit from certain taxes, and an important part of the deficit was reduced through VAT, another part was reduced through the increase of local taxes.
• You are mayor, you promised some things in the campaign, you want to do what you think is right. I think that, and I will probably upset some mayors, given that everyone has tightened their belts on the deficit, it is not reasonable to ask for more than you had in 2025.
• Either part of these local taxes come to the state budget, or there is a small decrease in the share of the income tax, so that we are not in a situation where you cut all sides in some localities to give more.“