Energy companies, telecom operators and banks in Romania argued that the new taxes that the Government reportedly prepares to levy on their sectors will result in higher end-user prices and hurt the economic growth.

The electricity price will rise by at least 6% as a result of the 3% turnover tax envisaged by the Government for all the companies in the energy sector, the association of the electricity suppliers (AFEER) estimates.

OMV Petrom, the biggest energy company in Romania, also issued an unprecedented warning, saying that the announced fiscal measures “will have a strong negative impact on the Romanian energy sector: energy supply, employment and investments.” Domestic gas production would decrease and imports would increase, endangering Romania’s energy security and leading to price increases in the future, while the lower investments would impact the labor market, according to OMV Petrom representatives.

Bankers estimate that the interest rate paid on foreign currency loans will double and that paid on local currency loans will rise by 33% as a result of the supplementary taxation of the banking assets as surfaced in media, Economica.net wrote. The tax would take away half of the local banks’ total profits but those that are already on a loss would be hit the hardest.

Finally, the big telecom operators joined voices and warned that the new taxes would make nearly impossible the development of new, 5G technologies in the coming years. Separately, the telecom fees will rise visibly, they added, according to Ziarul Financiar.

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editor@romania-insider.com

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