Romania’s local administrations hike property taxation significantly

Local administrations in Romania have sharply increased property and motor vehicle taxes, in some cases by rates well above those indicated by the government (around 70%), according to media reports, triggering public debate over the scale of the hikes.

The increases followed a decision by the government to raise the upper limits of recommended local taxation bands. This allowed municipalities that had previously levied taxes closer to the lower thresholds to boost revenues substantially, in some cases by more than 100%, while arguing that the additional income should remain entirely in local budgets, Ziarul Financiar reported.