Iohannis: Cuts necessary to high VAT, top tax evasion source

The current 24 percent level of the value added tax is too high, and it is the main item of tax avoidance; the VAT should be reduced to the previous level of 19 percent, presidential candidate Klaus Iohannis of the Christian Liberal Alliance said on Wednesday in a campaign stop in Curtea de Arges (northwest of Bucharest).

'We must return to a VAT of 19 percent for at least two reasons. The VAT is very high and represents a burden for ordinary people, too. Secondly, high VAT is the most important source of tax evasion. If we want to fight tax evasion, we must find the courage to say VAT is too high and should be reduced,' he said.

According to him, the VAT should not be cut overnight, but gradually, to avoid a serious impact on budget revenues.

Iohannis visited on Wednesday the factories owned in Curtea de Arges by the German companies Steinel and Dr. Oetker; he later talked with businesspeople in northern Arges County. His schedule also includes a visit to Automobile Dacia car manufacturer and to a company in Pitesti, the county seat.AGERPRES