Tax investigation

Taxpayers who choose to pay the total amount of their income tax dues this year in one lump sum by July 31 will secure a 3% discount, according to the amendment the National Economy and Finance Ministry submitted in Parliament.

Parliament on Thursday ratified the new criminal code bill drafted by the Justice Ministry after a two-day acrimonious debate between the government and the opposition.

Prime Minister Florin Citu on Tuesday said, at a discussion with representatives of the Coalition for the Development of Romania, that he wants the tax system to remain the same at least until 2024, without tax increases. "Since our last discussion, we also have a Minister of Finance whom you could have a dialogue with.

The Finance Ministry is drafting a plan for taxpayers to repay the debts that have accumulated during the pandemic so that enterprises and freelance professionals can start looking ahead again.

The debts to the state that have been suspended for now exceed 3 billion euros, while the pool of expired dues has grown by about €5 billion since the start of the year.

A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck in the Caribbean Sea between Jamaica and eastern Cuba on Jan. 28, shaking a vast area from Mexico to Florida and beyond, but there were no reports of casualties or heavy damage.

Over 3.9 million citizens have debts to the tax authorities, according to data published on Friday by the Independent Authority for Public Revenue. It remains to be seen how many of them will enter the new payment plan for up to 120 tranches and what amount they will decide to pay.

State debtors' expectations of a new settlement plan, the fact that taxpayers' resources are increasingly drying up, and unpaid fines sent new overdue arrears generated this year to 2.038 billion euros by the end of February, according to data from the tax administration.

Taxpayers will have to declare all their deposits, real estate assets, bonds, cars and cash to tax authorities in 2019.

The electronic register of assets, known as the Periousiologio in Greek, will start operating at the end of the first quarter of the year and 8.5 million taxpayers will need to fill in a declaration form listing the entire set of their assets.

High income taxation rates, combined with "extraordinary" tax levies, such as the solidarity levy and the Single Property Tax (ENFIA), have exhausted Greek households, many of which are in a losing battle with the taxman as they helplessly watch their debts increase.

Greece's state budget achieved a primary budget surplus of 2.08 billion euros in the first seven months of the year, more than double the planned 929 million euros, but investments and tax refunds were well below target, according to the Finance Ministry's preliminary budget execution bulletin published on Tuesday.