Tensions in the Coalition continue, after the Government approved, on Friday, five (out of six) bills from the second package of reform measures.
PSD disagrees with the elimination of the turnover tax for multinationals and accuses the Minister of Finance, Alexandru Nazare, of „making deals with the wealthy.”
"When addressing Romania's fiscal issues, you must never forget that, if you keep saying you have no money and tax the poor (CASS, VAT), you cannot reduce or eliminate taxes for the wealthy. It is totally unfair to eliminate the turnover tax on multinationals (it was 1% of Turnover, a negligible amount considering they have annual business of 250 billion euros) but impose a 10% CASS on mothers' incomes or people's pensions.
I stated this in the coalition, I asked Minister Nazare to abandon the idea, but it was clear to me that they had already made deals with multinationals (the wealthy, as I call them). HE DIDN'T GIVE UP! I also requested the abandonment of making mothers who receive child-rearing allowance pay CASS. HE DIDN'T ACCEPT! This is the truth: they chose to tax the poor and exempt the rich," former Finance Minister Adrian Câciu wrote on Facebook.
The Social Democrat says that PSD will submit amendments to this law so that the turnover tax remains in force. Additionally, Câciu announces an amendment for mothers to be exempt from paying CASS.
PSD President Sorin Grindeanu also criticized the elimination of the 1% turnover tax for multinationals.
"We do not agree with the fact that mothers and pensioners have to pay CASS, while multinationals earn over 1.2 billion lei by exempting them from the 1% turnover tax. This is immoral, and PSD cannot support such things," the PSD leader wrote on Facebook.
PSD's interim leader mentions that after the Government sends the laws to Parliament, the group of social-democratic parliamentarians will propose amendments.
He did not mention what PSD will do in the vote on assuming responsibility if their amendments are not accepted.
Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare stated on Friday that an important measure from package 2 is the elimination of the turnover tax for companies with over 50 million euros, replaced by a taxation system that targets specific sensitive expenses of multinational companies - management, consultancy, and intellectual property.
"Since the implementation of this turnover tax, private investments have decreased. And we are perfectly aware that private investments are the key to success, they are three times larger than public investments," said Nazare.
The Government approved, on Friday, five bills (out of six) from the second package of reform measures.
The sixth bill, concerning local administration reform, is still under discussion, and its approval is planned for Sunday, in a new government meeting. It is not clear, but it seems unlikely that it will be included in the second package when assuming responsibility.