Twelve days after the Romanian Government was supposed to endorse the fiscal changes at the end of June - such as to enforce them six months later in January 2023 - the Executive is still negotiating with the representatives of the investors and trade unions.

The latter disagree with many of the provisions included in the rather complex set of amendments envisaged by the authorities to boost the budget revenues - by some 0.9% of GDP according to the latest estimates.

The Government says it initiated "a series of consultations" on the document published on July 4, "which includes the main solutions identified by the ruling coalition during the first six months of the year," according to a statement quoted by News.ro. 

No immediate conclusion is expected, though. 

"Consultations will continue, in the coming days, at the technical level to identify the best solutions to strengthen the development framework of the Romanian economy, to ensure an adequate competitive environment and eliminate inequities in the tax system," the statement reads.

Rather than the higher taxation provisioned here and there by the fiscal changes envisaged by the Government, what impresses is the puzzling complexity of changes that touch most taxpayers.

"The tax changes announced these days by the authorities will have a moderate impact on the business environment," according to a comment published by Deloitte after the Government published the package.

"But beyond the complexity and their direct effect on the taxpayers concerned, it is significant that many of them, scheduled to apply from 1 January 2023, are still subject to debate and approval six months before their entry into force," the comment also reads.

Separately, the fiscal amendments proposed by the Government cannot substitute the much-needed improvement in tax collection. 

"In parallel with the announced measures, the steps to increase the collection to the state budget must be continued, so that in the medium term the discussions related to the need to increase taxes can be avoided," according to Deloitte's Fiscal and Legal Services Coordinating Partner Vlad Boeriu.

(Photo: Elena Elisseev/ Dreamstime)

iulian@romania-insider.com