Moldovan official journal roundup for 17 August

Chisinau, 16 August /MOLDPRES/ – The legislative kit for fiscal reform will be published in the Official Journal of Moldova on 17 August. The documents are aimed at stimulating business environment, increasing incomes of population, reduction of underground economy, salaries in envelops, tax evasion and undeclared revenues.

The adopted package envisages: reducing income tax for individuals from 18 per cent to 12 per cent by setting a single rate; reducing contribution employer to State Social Insurance Budget (BASS) from 23 per cent to 18 per cent (refers only to corporate sector); doubling personal exemption, from MDL 11,280 to MDL 24,000. Also, those ones which receive salaries below minimum subsistence level (MDL 1,862 in 2017) will no longer pay taxes.

Similarly, for Horeca industry, it was voted VAT rate cut from 20 per cent to 10 per cent for restaurants, hotels, cafés, catering, etc., for activity of taxi drivers it is proposed a special regime for taxing employees with salaries below MDL 10 thousand per month by application of a fixed income tax of MDL 500 per month. Besides, there are increased fines for unlicenced work, and passenger can refuse to pay if he does not receive a cash receipt.

Additionally, in order to bring money from underground economy to real economy, individuals can voluntarily declare undeclared goods, they will have to indicate the source of income and pay a tax of 03 per cent of value of liberalised goods by 10 – 20 December 2018. The public officials which have held public positions after 2009 are not to benefit from voluntary declaration of assets: presidents, MPs, PMs, ministers, deputy ministers, state secretaries, state general secretaries, judges, prosecutors, directors and deputy heads of Information and Security Service (SIS), National Anticorruption Centre (CNA), State Tax Service (SFS), Customs Service (SV), National Bank of Moldova (BNM), National Agency for Energy Regulation (ANRE), National Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Information Technology (ANRCETI), Service for Preventing and Combating Money Laundering (SPCSB), but also all heads of defrauded banks and those which benefited from fraudulent loans, including from Investprivatbank, Banca de Economii (BEM), Banca Sociala and Unibank. Thus, there will come no more fraudulent money into Moldova, or from theft of the billion or other illegalities.

The package also provides for a series of actions aimed at reducing the pressure and stimulating business environment, including: 2 to 3 years increase of repatriation deadline for results of external contracts, on – site control will be done only after verifying the acts, limiting duties of Intelligence and Security Service (SIS) related to investigation of economic crimes and cancellation of fines and penalties for late payment in case of taxes and duties until 10 – 20 December 2018.

The legislative package comes into force on 01 October 2018.

(Reporter A. Ciobanu, editor M. Jantovan)