Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă presented on Friday the main measures prepared for 2022, including setting a deficit of 6.2%, waiving the lowering of the threshold for micro-enterprises from the beginning of next year, reducing VAT on heating to 5% during the winter, and reducing VAT on housing, as well as imprisonment for withholding and non-payment of contributions. The Prime Minister said that the National Anti-Corruption Strategy had been adopted to meet a target agreed in the NPRR.
Main statements:
In today’s meeting, we will establish that from 1 January 2022 a 5% VAT rate will be applied to the supply of heating energy for the population as well as for schools, hospitals, and other public institutions; the measure will apply during the winter to mitigate the price increase;
Establish a reduced VAT rate of 5% for a single dwelling whose value exceeds RON 450 thousand, but does not exceed RON 700 thousand;
A coordinated approach is to support the business environment and allocate the largest investment budget in the last 30 years in terms of the amounts allocated;
We will introduce a series of measures to reduce tax evasion and VAT fraud;
The offense of withholding and non-payment of withholding tax will be recriminalized;
As we have seen a number of debates generated by the lowering of the threshold for classification as a micro-enterprise from EUR 1 million to EUR 500 000 on 1 January, I would like to clarify this now. The government will not approve such an initiative. Romanian entrepreneurs need a predictable and friendly environment to develop and consolidate their business honestly. They should not be taxed additionally and we have discussed and analyzed, we will discuss respecting the provisions of the Fiscal Code;
The Government is re-expecting the commitments made in relation to the European Commission to have a deficit of 6.2% next year under the ESA methodology, equivalent to a deficit of 5.8% of GDP under the cash methodology;
Another very important item on today’s agenda is the National Anti-Corruption Strategy for the period 2021-2025. Romania needs a solid set of measures to prevent corruption, strengthen the climate of integrity, increase the transparency of public institutions and increase citizens’ trust in state institutions. In this way, we are also achieving one of the important targets Romania has set itself in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan in the field of justice.