Romania’s Constitutional Court clears tax increases to take effect on January 1

The Romanian Constitutional Court (CCR) has ruled that a series of tax increases, including higher levies on housing, land, cars based on pollution norms, and stock market gains, may take effect starting January 1, 2026, Biziday.ro reported. The Court rejected a challenge filed by the opposition party AUR against the government’s fiscal reform law, on which the Ilie Bolojan Cabinet had assumed responsibility.

The CCR judges met on Wednesday, December 10, to review objections concerning both the reform of magistrates’ pensions and the law on local tax increases. In its decision on the latter, they dismissed the constitutional objection brought by AUR senators, clearing the way for the fiscal package to be implemented at the start of the new year.

The legislation includes an almost 80% increase in property taxes for houses and apartments, a shift to pollution-based taxation for vehicles, a 16% tax on cryptocurrency transactions, and higher taxes on stock market gains, according to Biziday.ro. It also introduces a RON 25 (EUR 5) fee for parcels under EUR 150 arriving from outside the European Union.

The government initially assumed responsibility for the bill in September, but the law was struck down by the CCR at that time and returned to Parliament for revisions. Lawmakers subsequently amended the text before adopting it again, after which AUR filed a new challenge.

Because the law could not take effect until the Court issued a ruling, the challenge risked delaying the government’s ability to finalise next year’s budget. The Constitutional Court had initially scheduled deliberations for February 4, then January 21, but moved the session to December 10 at the government’s request, enabling the measures to apply from January.

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea)