Green light for private scholarships

Legal entities that grant scholarships will be allowed to deduct the equivalent amounts from their taxable profit, up to a limit of 3% of turnover, as per the Law on private scholarships published in the Official Gazette. Freelancers who offer scholarships stand to benefit from a five percent deduction against the tax base calculated under the Fiscal Code. The normative regulation says private scholarships can be granted under contract to a beneficiary by a private legal entity or individual. The beneficiary can be a pupil, student or doctoral candidate, or someone enrolled in a postgraduate training programme at an accredited university in Romania or abroad. Private scholarships cannot be granted to relatives or godchildren (up to fourth degree). The Ministries of Finance and Education are expected to issue guidelines for enforcement of this law in the next two months. ZF