Romania’s Social Democrats propose 0.5% turnover tax for profit-tax-paying companies

The Social Democratic Party (PSD) of Romania will propose a new 0.5% turnover tax to apply to companies that currently pay profit tax, PSD president Sorin Grindeanu announced during a press conference on July 21, Economica.net reported. The measure, which targets businesses other than microenterprises, is expected to be presented to coalition partners for discussion this week.

Grindeanu did not clarify whether the new turnover tax would be levied in addition to the existing 16% profit tax or only on companies that pay a lower effective rate.

Currently, Romanian legislation imposes a 1% turnover tax on companies with annual revenues exceeding EUR 50 million that report losses or pay profit tax amounting to less than 1% of turnover.

The proposed 0.5% turnover tax would thus expand the scope of turnover-based taxation beyond the current regime.

Grindeanu said the initiative is aimed at ensuring equity among taxpayers. “If you made a profit in Romania, [you should] pay taxes in Romania and we have nothing to do with the profit you make,” he said.

The PSD leader also indicated that the party would push for tighter regulation and taxation of profit-shifting practices, but provided no further details about the mechanisms or legislative instruments that would be used.

The proposal comes amid rising fiscal pressures and ongoing discussions about tax reform in Romania.

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