Romanian Prime Minister wants tax on severance payments to board members of three former government agencies

Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta (in picture) recently stated that he wants an 85 percent tax on the compensation salaries paid to the board members of the former agencies that now form the Romanian Authority for Financial Surveillance (ASF). The Government will thus approve on Tuesday an emergency ordinance to tax the severance payments for these former board members. “I find it absolutely unacceptable to get EUR 800,000 after taking EUR 20,000-EUR 30,000 per month, in a public institution. In America, the bonuses from those banks that went bankrupt were 90 percent taxed. I think we should do the same and I asked the Ministry of Finance to find a solution,” said Victor Ponta. ASF started its activity in late April this year after taking over and reorganizing the attributions of the former National Securities Commission (CNVM), the Romanian Insurance Supervisory Commission (CSA) and the Private Pensions System Supervisory Commission (CSSPP). The three former agencies were headed by 19 commissioners. After the dissolution of the three agencies, the former heads of CSA received 19 compensatory salaries, while those from CNVM were paid 9 salaries, according to Mircea Ursache - ASF’s executive vice-president. ASF is being headed by Radu Rusanu, who gets a salary of EUR 14,000 a month. The salary of first vice president Daniel Daianu is of 95 percent of the president's, and the three vicepresident earn 90 percent of the president's salary. The 12 non-executive members make EUR 3.600 a month each. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com (photo source: Gov.ro)