Radio România Internațional

Tag: duties

  • July 1, 2024 UPDATE

    July 1, 2024 UPDATE

    TALKS Romania’s Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu on Monday held talks with political parties on the presidential election schedule. The Save Romania Union, a.k.a USR, stood for holding these election in November, the term set by the law. The Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) has voiced its readiness for the election in mid-September, as the head of the Executive repeatedly announced. The Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) wants these election in October, whereas SOS Romania chose the month of November. The latest government talks on the election schedule come against the disputes within the ruling PSD-PNL coalition. In another round of talks, concurrently with the government talks, the PNL leadership unanimously voted in favour of the month of November for the presidential election. We recall that this year, besides the presidential election, legislative elections are to take place in Romania in December .

     

    OSCE Bucharest is hosting the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, whose general theme is “The Role of the OSCE in the Current Security Architecture: A Parliamentary Perspective”. The 31st meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly is an event of a major geopolitical importance, according to the head of the Romanian Parliament’s delegation to the OSCE, Dan Barna. He added that Romania’s hosting it shows the recognition of its role in the regional context of the war in Ukraine and the European security developments for the OSCE countries. The war waged by Russia against Ukraine is one of the main topics on the agenda of the meeting, Barna also said. The over 250 MPs gathering in Bucharest these days will also discuss economic development, women’s and men’s equal involvement in political life and the involvement of young people in the decision-making process.

     

    PRICES Excise duties on fuel again went up in Romania from 1st July, with the price of one litre of petrol expected to go up by around 0.43 euros, while that of diesel oil by around 0.4 euros. Gas prices will also see some changes, with the regulatory body approving an increase of 19% on average in supply prices. The minimum wage goes up to 3,700 lei from 3,300, also from 1st July.

     

    POLL 74% of Romanians see inflation as the main reason why they will spend more in the next six months, according to a survey published by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Most respondents believe they will be spending more on food, clothing, DIY products and travel. 46% and 39% respectively say discounts, followed by promotional offers are the main reasons why people change brands. The purchasing decision is influenced especially by the ads on social networks, in the opinion of more than 70% of respondents, which is similar to worldwide trends. Facebook remains the most popular social media app in Romania, while younger users prefer Instagram and TikTok. 36% of Romanian consumers buy their products from physical shops, while 29% buy online on their PCs and 31% from their phones. The Voice of Consumer 2024 survey was conducted using a sample of 20,662 consumers from 31 countries and territories, including Romania.

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  • January 2, 2024 UPDATE

    January 2, 2024 UPDATE

    QUAKE Romania stands
    by Japan in these difficult moments, the country’s president, Klaus Iohannis,
    said in a message which he conveyed on Tuesday along with condolences for the
    victims’ families. We recall that authorities in that country are in a
    battle against time in their attempt to find survivors after the 7.6 magnitude
    earthquake on Monday, which was followed by many aftershocks. According to
    provisional tolls, scores have been killed and hundreds of buildings destroyed.
    Numerous fires caused by broken pipelines have been reported in the north of
    the Noto peninsula, close to the quake’s epicenter. With sub-zero temperatures
    at night, rescuers are making great efforts to find survivors.






    WEATHER
    According to sources with the Environment Ministry, 2023 was the hottest year
    in the history of Romania’s weather forecasts. The average temperature stood at
    12.5 degrees centigrade, two degrees above the average of the period between
    1981 and 2010. At the same time, the 2012-2023 interval becomes the hottest
    period in the country’s history of weather forecasts. Last Christmas also
    proved to be the hottest since the beginning of weather monitoring in Romania
    with 21 degrees centigrade at Calafat, in the south. And according to
    Copernicus Climate Change Service, 2023 was also the hottest in Europe, where
    experts have again been cautioning against the ongoing global warming, as the
    greenhouse gas emissions are growing. According to Romania’s Environment
    Minister, Mircea Fechet, this means that the extreme weather phenomena will
    increase in frequency and intensity causing more damage and killing more
    people.




    PRICE HIKES The new year has brought a
    series of fiscal amendments to Romanians, ranging from new VAT rises to other
    majored excises and taxes. Fines have also been raised, and companies reporting
    over 50 million euros in turnover will be paying taxes of at least one percent
    of their turnover. Tobacco excises have been raised and so has the VAT, which
    stands between 9 and 19 % in certain products and services. A special tax has
    been introduced for expensive goods, such as houses or cars, and authorities
    have also raised excises for sweet products. Fuel excises are also getting
    higher while experts believe the new fiscal measures will translate into a
    higher inflation rate and a local currency that depreciates against the Euro.
    Romania’s budget deficit this year has been estimated at 5% of the GDP with an
    economic growth of 3.4%. 7% of the country’s GDP has been earmarked for
    investment.






    GAZA Israel has pulled out its
    tanks from some parts of the Gaza city announcing a new stage in its war
    against the terrorist group Hamas. The new change in Israel’s tactics involves
    the partial pull out of its troops from the Gaza Strip and an increased focus
    on smaller-scale targeted operations. Israel says one of the key objectives is
    the complete elimination of the Hamas threat and the release of the hostages
    still kept by the famous terrorist group. According to Radio Romania
    correspondent in Israel, the attempts to release the Israeli hostages, which
    seemed to be compromised at a certain point, have these days been given a fresh
    impetus thanks to the mediation efforts of Qatar and Egypt. The war in Gaza,
    which broke out after the attack on Israel masterminded and conducted by the
    terrorist group Hamas on October 7, when 12 hundred people were killed and 240
    kidnapped, has so far caused the death of roughly 22 thousand Palestinians in
    the Gaza Strip. At the same time, most of the region’s 2.3 million people
    residents has been displaced.




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  • Customs duty waiver for Ukraine

    Customs duty waiver for Ukraine


    In order to support Ukraines economy, severely hit by the Russian invasion, the EU trade ministers Thursday approved the Commissions proposal to extend by another year the trade facilities granted for Ukraines exports. All import duties are therefore lifted until June next year.



    By renewing the measure, the EU continues to prove its unwavering political and economic support for Ukraine, Brussels explained, and added that this form of support, concurrently with the military, financial and humanitarian aid, is vital for the countrys long-term recovery. The EC said the further lifting of safeguard measures will help mitigate the difficult situation facing the Ukrainian producers and exporters following the Russian invasion.



    The measures apply to fruits and vegetables subjected to the entry price system, as well as agricultural products and processed products subject to tariff quotas. And because certain effects of this decision have a dramatic impact on several economic sectors in Member States, the package also includes measures to protect these sectors.



    The EU leaders call for solidarity from the European society, and argue that while EU countries are paying to help war-hit Kyiv in money, Ukrainians are paying for this conflict caused by Moscow both financially, and in human lives.



    The suspension of import duties triggered complaints from farmer associations in 5 EU member states, including Romania, on grounds of the unfair competition with the exports of grains from these countries, which are subject to duties and restrictions. The discontent culminated with the decision made by Poland and Hungary last month to ban certain grain imports from Ukraine.



    Moreover, early this week, several hundred farmers from EU countries neighbouring Ukraine, Romania included, protested in Brussels, demanding measures to avoid the bankruptcy of thousands of European farmers. Romanian farmers, for instance, argued that traders and producers in the agrifood sector prefer the grains imported from Ukraine to the ones produced locally, due to the lower prices. In this context, the European Commission approved an additional EUR 100 mln in aid for the farmers in the 5 most affected countries-Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia.Romania is set to receive nearly EUR 30 mln of the total amount. (AMP)


  • Fiscal Code Amendments

    Fiscal Code Amendments


    In times of crisis, taxes and charges should not be raised. This is a rule often mentioned by economic analysts and politicians.



    These days however, burdened by a two-digit inflation rate prompted by skyrocketing energy and natural gas prices, Romanians are finding it increasingly hard to cope. And they fear they will be unable to pay their bills this coming winter. Under these circumstances, additional taxes and charges only manage to bring people down even more.



    Asked recently about the amendments to the Fiscal Code that are taking effect on August 1, the president Klaus Iohannis said they do not introduce new taxes, but that they address situations that had not been properly regulated before. More precisely, this is about taxes introduced in other circumstances, perhaps without proper discussion or analysis, and it is now necessary to revisit them, to make things more transparent and fair, and thus to ensure better collection of state budget revenues. Better collection means less tax evasion, president Iohannis argued.



    That said, following the decisions made recently by the coalition government made up of the National Liberal Party, Social Democratic Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, as of August 1 tobacco products will be more expensive, ceilings for certain tax exemptions will be lower and the tax on gambling gains will be higher.



    To go into more detail, as of Monday, whether they smoke classical or electronic cigarettes, Romanians will pay more, as the tobacco excise duty is raised. The decision, the authorities say, was made in order to avoid an infringement procedure against Romania for the inadequate transposition of EU legislation in this respect.



    The prices of alcoholic beverages also go up. According to the finance minister Adrian Câciu, the excise duties for alcohol had not been updated since 2015.



    As for gambling gains, a higher tax will be levied, ranging between 3% and 40%.



    Changes are also operated as regards salaries in the construction industry, agriculture and the food industry, where the ceiling for certain tax rebates will be lowered from EUR 6,000 to EUR 2,000 per month.



    Also beginning on August 1, for a part-time employment contract, employers will have to pay taxes corresponding to a full minimum salary, which triggers concerns that many small companies might be forced out of business or resort to illegal employment.



    Even more changes to the Fiscal Code will take effect on January 1, 2023. For example, in the hospitality industry VAT will be raised from 5 to 9%, while the VAT for non-alcoholic beer and for sugary drinks will be raised to 19%. Property taxes will also be calculated on a new methodology. (AMP)