Finance Ministry announces 16% tax on interests and luncheon vouchers as of July 1

Almost 600 million RON (142 million euros). This is the sum the Finance Ministry hopes to collect in the second half of the year as a result of measures like the 16% tax on interest-related incomes, on luncheon and gift vouchers and on the profits made from transactions with stocks, regardless of how long these shares were held. The Finance Ministry is finally undertaking an official Fiscal Code amendment draft, which will see the 16% tax levied on several types of incomes, whereas taxes like those on stock transactions, gambling, royalties or real estate will be raised. The Ministry will also be able to use a set of criteria and assess whether a taxpayer registered as a freelancer derives other incomes that can be assimilated to a salary and therefore require them to pay income tax and social security contributions.
The emergency ordinance draft available on the Finance Ministry's website includes a series of changes compared with the working draft shown to the social partners and to the business sector; however, the most important detail is the enforcement date of the ordinance: July 1. Enforcement guidelines should follow thirty days from publication in the Official Gazette.