Romania’s budget deficit will not widen to 5% of GDP this year and the past year’s deficit was below 2.9%, finance minister Eugen Teodorovici stated in a TV show of Antena 3 on January 6, local Ziarul Financiar reported.

He firmly dismissed speculations regarding sharp fiscal slippage this year.

Unofficial sources had informed over the weekend about preliminary estimates of the ministry’s experts leading to the conclusion of a fiscal gap of nearly 5% of GDP -- forecast, however, without considering the effects of the supplementary taxes introduced by the emergency ordinance published in the Official Gazette on December 29.

Minister Teodorovici in the meantime replaced the head of the tax collection agency ANAF, claiming that a new approach is needed to boost revenues. Reportedly, he requested ANAF to increase the fiscal revenues by 15% this year compared to the revenues reported in 2018, at a rate well above the 7% expected advance of the nominal GDP.

editor@romania-insider.com

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