Ambassador: Fiscal changes can potentially affect the US-Romania economic partnership

The economic dimension of the strategic partnership between US and Romania can potentially be affected by fiscal changes, if these are made without consulting investors, US ambassador to Romania Hans Klemm told local journalists after a meeting with Liviu Dragnea, the leader of the governing Social Democratic Party (PSD) and president of the Chamber of Deputies. Liviu Dragnea met on Thursday with US Ambassador Hans Klemm and Dean Thompson, the US Embassy’s Deputy Chief of Mission, who ended his assignment in Romania. Dragnea said he assured the American diplomats that the new tax framework won’t make Romania less attractive to investors, but quite the opposite. Ambassador Klemm said Romania has an environment that’s attractive for investors, at the moment, but he added that the new Government should maintain this attractiveness. “Stability, predictability, and transparency as well as consulting with foreign investors are important for maintaining this attractiveness,” Klemm said, according to News.ro. He said that although all governments are free to change economic and fiscal policies, these changes should be made after consulting investors. “It’s important that the Government sends the right messages to American companies and foreign investors.” The fiscal changes recently announced in the new governing program, such as replacing the tax on profits with the tax on turnover and introducing a solidarity tax on high wages, have been strongly criticized by business organizations representing both foreign and local investors. The tax on turnover stirred the most reactions after PSD leader Liviu Dragnea said the Government was considering this tax to collect more money from foreign companies, which have been recording lower profits than local ones. After the negative comments, Dragnea said the Government would not make any fiscal changes without proper studies and talks with the business environment. Liviu Dragnea said he was the one who brought up this issue in his meeting with Hans Klemm and Dean Thompson and that he assured them the fiscal framework will Remain attractive for investors. “We want to find ways to make more companies become even more profitable – in fact, this is what it’s all about,” he said. He added that the Government would have meetings with foreign companies and banks to find solutions. US Ambassador announces biggest commercial mission to Romania