AmCham: Romanian authorities must finalize the secondary and tertiary fiscal legislation

Romania’s new Fiscal Code and Fiscal Procedure Code, which enter into force starting January 1, 2016, will bring more transparency and stability for the business environment, but the authorities should now focus on formulating and finalizing the secondary and tertiary fiscal legislation, according to the American Chamber of Commerce in Romania (AmCham Romania), one of the strongest advocacy groups representing the local business environment. "The new Codes expected to enter into force next year will provide transparency, stability, and predictability, key elements of the investment climate, therefore, the success of this important step is closely linked to how the secondary and tertiary legislation is being formulated and finalized in view of Romania’s competitive positioning on the investors’ map," said Ionut Simion, Chairman of AmCham Romania’s Taxation Committee. AmCham Romania calls on the competent authorities to align the legislative framework to the business environment recommendations, with a special focus on the Fiscal Procedural Code. “The uniform and unbiased implementation of the legal provisions is a priority for the business environment represented by AmCham, which is why during the next months we will be following closely the completion of the methodological norms of the Fiscal Code and the orders given by the ANAF President,” reads an AmCham statement. Another urgent priority is continuing the modernization of the National Agency for Fiscal Administration - ANAF started with the support of the World Bank and establishing a balance between taxpayers’ rights and obligations, on the one hand, and tax authorities on the other hand, through a greater transparency of ANAF’s procedures and activities. “AmCham remains a strong supporter of the tax evasion fight, however, we note with concern that over the past years the number of criminal cases drawn from investigations and tax audits has increased considerably. We believe that tax auditors should address with utmost responsibility the situations encountered in the fiscal controls so that the tax disputes to be transferred in the field of criminal law only after careful and appropriate consideration,” AmCham concluded. The new Fiscal Code that enters into force starting January 1, 2016, comes with a series of tax cuts. The general VAT rate will be reduced from 24% to 20% while the tax on dividends will drop from 16% to 5%. Romania’s Parliament approves the new Fiscal Code for the second time this year EY: Romania’s new Fiscal Procedure Code will have mixed effects editor@romania-insider.com