Social Liberal Union's economic program for Romania: reduced VAT on some food products, single EU funds authority

The Social Liberal Union’s (USL) economic platform for Romania features a reduced rate of VAT on the production of cereals, bread, fresh meat, milk and vegetables – with a 9 percent part to the budget and 15 percent deducted to the manufacturer. USL also aims to stimulate the Romanian agriculture through a program that will develop the national network of collection, storage and processing of agricultural products. The Union will keep the 16 percent profit tax or the 3 percent tax on turnover for small business and promises full payment of arrears to the private sector, as well equal tax treatment between the state and taxpayers. In order to avoid people supporting the currency risk, loans to individuals will be assessed and granted mainly in the currency people obtain their revenues, USL proposes. Other measures proposed by the Union refer to the capitalization of CEC and Eximbank and making an agricultural cadastre to clarify the legal situation of agricultural land in Romania. Regarding the European funds, USL proposes establishing a single authority for this segment, and the negotiation of future EU funds for Romania. The Union's program also proposes an online system for submission and evaluation of projects, creating public-private partnerships to accelerate the absorption of EU funds, and VAT reimbursement for projects financed from European funds after each request for reimbursement and not at the end of the project. The Social Liberal Union is a political alliance between three Romanian political parties, the National Liberal Party, the Social Democratic Party and the Conservative Party, which will operate until 2020. The alliance was formed in February 2011. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com