Romanian senators change Fiscal Code draft on excises, dividend tax

The Senate’s Budget Committee didn’t agree with the excise duty rate cut the Government proposed in the Fiscal Code draft. Excises for gasoline and diesel fuel should have decreased by up to 20% starting January 1, 2016, according to the Fiscal Code draft approved by the Government. The Senate’s Budget Committee, however, eliminated this cut, which would have lowered the state’s revenues by some EUR 675 million per year, reports local Digi24. The senators also opposed the Government’s intention to cut the tax on corporate dividends. Instead, they proposed that the dividend taxation rate would be lowered from the current 16% to 5% from January 2016. The senators kept the Government’s proposal to reduce the general VAT rate from 24% to 20% starting January 2016 and the VAT rate for food from 24% to 9% starting June this year. editor@romania-insider.com