Radio România Internațional

Tag: excise duty on fuel

  • Fiscal and budget changes

    Fiscal and budget changes

    The good news is that, for some Romanians, the second half of 2024 will apparently be easier. The bad news is that living costs are actually going up for everyone. As of July 1, a series of fiscal changes decided by the government take effect, from the increase of the national minimum wage to the increase of excise duties on fuel or the decrease of the index used to calculate bank interest rates. Overall, over 1.8 million employees benefit from the effects of the increase in the gross minimum wage starting July 1, from 3,300 to 3,700 Lei. The net increase for the 760 thousand workers earning minimum wages is 284 Lei, tantamount to some 57 EUR. To make sure no income is affected by the new salary scale, lawmakers eliminated the 4,000 lei threshold taken into account for granting meal vouchers or food allowances.

     

     

    Also starting July 1, loan rates in national currency will slightly go down as a result of the decrease in the reference index for consumers, known as IRCC – from 5.9% to 5.86%. However, this decrease will not greatly impact the monthly rates of loan holders, economic pundits say. It will only be a four to five lei decrease, depending on the balance. The second semester also comes with an increase in excise duties on fuel, an annual measure stipulated in the Fiscal Code, which seeks to update fuel costs in line with the inflation rate. As a result, according to the Competition Council app, one liter of standard gasoline sold between 7.42 and 7.56 Lei in Bucharest on Monday morning, accounting for an average increase of approximately 0.40 Lei, a difference that also applies to Diesel. Some filling stations already increased fuel prices last week. The media expects filling stations will continue to increase prices, all the more so since the demand for fuel goes up during the summer season. The price for oil, experts recall, accounts for only a small share of the price of fuel. Nearly half of the price is represented by taxes and excises, and right now, the budget deficit is quite large, threatening to increase and lawmakers rely on budget revenues.

     

     

    Starting July 1, natural gas bills will also go up, as the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) last week approved an average 19% increase in distribution tariffs. Economic pundits say the increase in fuel excises and gas bills will have a domino effect and will inevitably lead to higher prices across the board, from food to vacations. (VP)

  • September 15, 2017 UPDATE

    September 15, 2017 UPDATE

    London — The American President Donald Trump has condemned Friday’s attack in a subway station in London and said the terrorists should be treated in a much tougher way, DPA and Reuters report. The explosion of a makeshift device in the subway station wounded 22 people. Great Britain has this year been the target of 4 terrorist attacks that have killed 36 people.



    Kabul — One of the 3 Romanian soldiers wounded on Friday in Afghanistan, in a patrol mission in Kandahar, has died, the Romanian Defense Ministry has announced. Corporal Mădălin Stoica, 41, was on his first mission in the region. The state of the other 2 soldiers is stable. The soldiers were traveling in a convoy in Kandahar, when a booby-trapped vehicle collided with their armored vehicle. The military were deployed in Afghanistan in August. In 2017 the Romanian Army is contributing more than 620 military to the NATO Resolute Support operation in Afghanistan, while another 300 soldiers are being deployed in operations led by NATO, the EU, the UN and the OSCE in other regions. 29 Romanian soldiers have died and another 180 have been wounded in external missions.



    Excise duty on fuel— In Romania the excise duty on fuel went up on Friday by 3.5 eurocents / liter, and is expected to increase by the same amount starting October 1. Aimed at bringing in more revenues to the state budget, the measure was taken after the Government eliminated the 7 eurocents extra excise duty on fuel early this year. The introduction of the additional excise is harshly criticized by transporters, who warn that its effects will impact the entire economy.



    Ukraine — Three MPs in the Ukrainian Parliament, including Romanian Grigore Timis, have called on President Petro Poroshenko not to ratify the new education law. Passed earlier this month, the law severely restricts the rights of national minorities to education in their mother tongue. The three MPs say Ukraine will violate bilateral agreements with their countries if the law is passed. On Thursday, Foreign Ministers of Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Greece addressed a joint letter to their Ukrainian counterpart, calling for the amendment of the draft law.



    Missile test — The Russian President Vladimir Putin has had a phone conversation with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron related to the consequences of North Korea’s latest missile test. According to a Kremlin communiqué, the two leaders have condemned North Korea’s provocative actions, which risk leading to “irreversible consequences”. The latest North Korean missile test has been firmly condemned by the UN Secretary General and the EU foreign policy chief. The Japanese Government condemned the action and called it “an extreme challenge”. The US has urged China and Russia to put direct pressure on North Korea. The Romanian Foreign Ministry firmly condemned North Korea’s second missile test and considers that the test is a serious violation of the UN Security Council resolutions as well as a serious challenge to regional and international peace and security.



    Tennis — Austria leads Romania 2-0 after the first singles played Friday in Wels, at the Davis Cup, in the first-round playoffs to remain in the Europe/ Africa Group I. Gerald Melzer defeated Dragoş Dima and Dominic Thiem, world no. 7 player, defeated Bogdan Borza. On Saturday, Horia Tecau and Nicolae Frunza are playing Dominic Thiem and Philipp Oswald. On Sunday, Dominic Thiem is playing Dragos Dima, while Gerald Melzer will take on Bogdan Borza. Romania leads 3-2 in official direct games against Austria. (translation by L. Simion)

  • September 15, 2017

    September 15, 2017

    EXPLOSION — The British Police is treating today’s explosion in a metro station in London as an act of terrorism. British security forces, the emergency medical service and the fire squad were called up after a small explosion was reported in one of the cars, causing burn injuries to several people. Great Britain this year was the target of four major terrorist attacks, which killed 36 people.



    MILITARY — Three Romanian soldiers were wounded today in Afghanistan during a mission in the area of responsibility. Two of them are stable and the third is in critical condition. The military were travelling in a convoy in Kandahar, when a booby-trapped vehicle collided with their armored vehicle. The military were deployed in Afghanistan in August. In 2017 the Romanian Army is contributing 620 military to the NATO Resolute Support operation in Afghanistan, while another 300 soldiers are being deployed in operations led by NATO, the EU, the UN and the OSCE in other regions. 28 Romanian soldiers died and another 18- were wounded in external missions.



    EXCISE DUTY ON FUEL — The excise duty on fuel went up on Friday by 3,5 eurocents / liter, and is expected to increase by the same amount starting October 1. Aimed at bringing in more revenues to the state budget, the measure was taken after the Government eliminated the 7 eurocents extra excise duty on fuel early this year. The introduction of the additional excise is harshly criticized by transporters, who warn that its effects will impact the entire economy.



    UKRAINE — Three MPs in the Ukrainian Parliament, including Romanian Grigore Timis, have called on President Petro Poroshenko not to ratify the new education law. Passed earlier this month, the law severely restricts the rights of national minorities to education in their mother tongue. The three MPs say Ukraine would violate bilateral agreements with their countries if the law is passed. On Thursday, Foreign Ministers of Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Greece addressed a joint letter to their Ukrainian counterpart, calling for the amendment of the draft law.



    NORTH KOREA — The UN Security Council is today meeting in an emergency session at the request of the United States and Japan to address the latest North-Korean missile test. According to South-Korean officials, a missile was launched close to Pyongyang and flew over 3,700 kilometers. The Japanese Government has condemned what it has described “a dangerous provocative action”. The US has urged China and Russia to exert pressure on North Korea. China is the largest oil provider to North Korea, while Russia employs a large number of North Koreans, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said. The recently adopted UN sanctions should be the starting point of action against North Korea, the US official went on to say.



    FOOTBALL — Romanian football club FSCB won 3-nil against Viktoria Plzen of the Czech Republic in the first game of the Europa League group phase. In the other group fixture, Hapoel Beer Sheva of Israel edged out 2-1 Lugano of Switzerland on home turf. In another move, the Romanian Football Federation on Thursday terminated the contract of Romanian national team coach German Christoph Daum, after the poor qualification campaign in the 2018 World Cup preliminaries. With 9 points in 8 games, Romania now holds zero chances of qualifying, ranking 4th after Poland, Denmark and Montenegro.



    TENNIS — Dragos Dima is today playing Gerald Melzer in the first game of the Davis Cup match pitting Romania against Austria. Hosted by Wels in Austria, the match is counting towards the first round of the playoffs for Group 1 in the Europe-Africa zone. In the second match of the game, Domonic Thiem, the world’s no. 7, is playing Bogdan Borza. On Saturday, Horia Tecau and Nicolae Frunza are playing Dominic Thiem and Philipp Oswald. On Sunday, Dominic Thiem is playing Dragos Dima, while Gerald Melzer will take on Bogdan Borza. Romania leads 3-2 in official games against Austria. (Translated by V. Palcu)