A team of experts from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will come to Romania in January to evaluate the way Romanian authorities collect fiscal revenues.

The IMF team will also screen the Tax Code and will draft proposals for improving the system, finance minister Florin Citu told Digi 24 news station, Economica.net reported.

Citu has to conduct a significant fiscal consolidation process starting from a deficit of 4.4% of GDP this year and the additional expenditures and tax cuts voted by the Parliament, where his party (PNL) holds a fragile position, are not helping him.

Under the fiscal strategy drafted by the Government, the Finance Ministry envisages a small increase in the budget revenues to GDP, namely by 0.87 percentage points, from 31.38% in 2019 to 32.25% in 2023.

"I will have a team from the IMF coming to Romania in January to look at the Tax Code, to evaluate how we collect, to see if the Tax Code in Romania today is a burden as it is, [to see if] it can be improved. (...) They will come and give us solutions," Cîţu said.

After discussions with the Romanian officials in June this year, the IMF drafted a report in which it advised the Romanian authorities to start a sustainable fiscal consolidation process, supported by quality measures, aimed at reducing the budget and trade deficit.

The IMF also recommended Romania to reassess the new Pension Law and improve governance in state-owned companies.

Currently, Romania does not have a financing agreement with the Fund, but the financial institution annually evaluates the evolution of the Romanian economy, based on consultations on Article IV.

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editor@romania-insider.com