Eight years ago, Dutchman and tax law aficionado Peter de Ruiter arrived in Bucharest, seeking a new challenge in his career, after some eight years in Poland. He's not a typical foreign executive, he drives a scooter  and has become known as an unconventional businessman. Peter de Ruiter - long term expat and partner with PwC Romania - sat down with Romania-Insider.com and spoke about his life here, a country that can still boost his adrenaline level.

By Corina Dumitrescu

Peter de Ruiter is one of those lucky few who do what they love for a living. And for him that means tax law, an area which, at first glance, does not seem like something capable of stirring such passion. But, “After 32 years in the job, I still find it fascinating”, he says.

From a newspaper delivery job when in high school, when he learned that nothing comes easy and that it’s very rewarding to be independent, to graduating in tax law at the Leiden University in the Netherlands, Peter de Ruiter has found insights into how a society and a democracy work. If there is a good comprehension of the legal framework, life, as he says, becomes more understandable. His area of expertise not only unveils the logic behind how things are done, but since it has a tradition dating from ancient times, it also reveals the evolution of mankind and the maths behind its various forms of organization.

The Partner at PwC Romania leads the Tax and Legal Services Department, a team of over 200 professionals. It's a job that he has held since 2006 and after working with it all these years, Peter de Ruiter's verdict on the local tax system is "pretty good. That said, he becomes vexed at the thought that Romanians have a tendency to look down on themselves and what their country has to offer.

“This national tendency to self-deprecation is not fair at all, because the country and the people have a lot of things to offer. Concerning the local legal system, even though it is not very well elaborated, and, yes, there are some flaws, the general legal framework is there and, moreover, there is a lot of innovation going on and I have noticed improvement since the EU accession,” Peter explains.

Yet there seems to be an illusion that the law can provide an answer to every question, but the lawmakers, even though they make the rules, can’t address every specific issue, because they don’t know what might happen tomorrow, he further explains.

After having spent an equal amount of time in both Poland and Romania, de Ruiter feels that Romanians should learn from the Poles’ pride in their own achievements. Other than that, he enjoys the company of friendly people, good food and wine in Romania, a country he's still attracted to and where he feels there is plenty for him to do.

The 54-year old Dutchman still has trouble speaking Romanian, although he takes lessons. He blames his age for his difficulties in learning the lingo.

An art lover, Peter still misses the major art exhibits that the had access to in his homeland, and also finds it challenging to have his children in the Netherlands. But in spite of the distance, he has managed to keep his family closely knit, which he regards as an accomplishment.

His wife, a painter, finds much inspiration in the unique local untouched scenery, both in the mountains and the Danube Delta. Peter still regards Bucharest as his favorite place in Romania, in spite of the dangers it presents for some of his favorite sports, such as cycling. Despite the dangers, he tries to get out on the bike as much as he can, while in the winter he enjoys skiing in Brasov, Azuga or Sinaia. The company that he works for has a strong jogging culture; at the last Bucharest marathon more than 160 runners from PwC joined in, while the PwC Run4Fun club attends most of the major running competitions in Romania.

De Ruiter came from a family with three children, so having a job at an early age seems a natural thing for him. The concept is not widespread in Romania, perhaps due to many families here having only one child, so it’s natural to just pamper the only child, he believes.

He is quite aware of the cultural differences and sees how Romanians tend to be too easily affected by certain aspects of life, even in the case of younger generations. Sometime he hears people in their twenties complaining about the difficulty of their jobs and being tired at the start of a week, which he says in his country would be considered unacceptable, or a sign of weakness.

But this more “theatrical” feature, as he smilingly observes, may be due to the Latin roots that Romanians have, which also makes them more explosive and emotional, and quite the opposite to the Dutch, for example, something which he finds very intriguing.

But in spite of his minor complaints and the cultural differences, for Peter de Ruiter the best thing about Romania is its people.

Corina Dumitrescu, corina.dumitrescu@romania-insider.com

(photo source: PwC)