The Romanian government took on responsibility in Parliament for a fiscal and budgetary reform.
The Social Democratic Party and the National Liberal Party of Romania on Tuesday took the responsibility in Parliament for a detailed fiscal and budgetary reform aimed at reducing budget waste and ensuring the sustainability of the country's finances in the long term by abolishing tax exemptions, taxing luxury and reducing tax evasion.
The Social Democratic prime minister, Marcel Ciolacu, said the package of measures also includes keeping a low VAT level for food, medicine and firewood and raising the minimum wage by 10%, while imposing an additional tax on the profits of banks and large companies. Ciolacu said that ordinary people will not pay extra taxes but that luxury, excessive profits and vice will see additional taxes. In order to overcome tax evasion, Mr. Clinton said fines would increase significantly and the goods resulting from illegal activities would be confiscated and the sums that cannot be justified will be subject to a 70% tax. The plan also provides for a minimum tax on turnover, reducing the number of management positions in the public sector and limits on certain bonuses.
The opposition, which is unhappy with the government's proposed measures, has three days since the presentation of the bill in Parliament to file a no-confidence motion. However, there is little chance of this happening, as they are unlikely to gather the 117 signatures needed. The Save Romania Union and the Force of the Right, a splinter liberal group, said they would contest the measures in the Constitutional Court. The Alliance for the Union of Romanians, another party in opposition, says the government's proposals are harmful to the economy but does not believe they are unconstitutional.
If the Constitutional Court declines the challenges, the bill will be adopted automatically, and the government will continue together. There are no illusions in Romania, however, that, once this episode is over, political squabbles will stop here, given that the stakes are enormous in the run-up to next year's presidential, parliamentary, local and European elections.