On the website of the Ministry of Finance (MF) was republished on July 13, 2022, the draft of the new tax measures, a document initially published on July 4, 2022.
Following measures remain unchanged:
- Extension of the facility for tax exemption of invested profits and for investments in assets used in production and processing activities, assets representing refurbishment, in order to stimulate taxpayers to develop new production capacities, and to modernize existing ones;
- the proposal to increase the dividend tax rate from 5% to 8%;
- reduction of the micro cap from €1,000,000 to €500,000;
- the introduction of a condition of holding shares by the same shareholder/associate in no more than three micro-enterprises, in the case of shareholders of associates holding more than 25% of the value/number of shares or voting rights;
- limitation to 20% of income from consultancy and management;
- exclusion from the scope of application of the income tax on microenterprises of legal entities carrying out activities: in the field of banking, insurance and reinsurance, capital market, including intermediation activities in these fields, in the field of gambling, as well as Romanian legal entities carrying out activities of exploration, development, exploitation of oil and gas fields;
- elimination of the possibility of opting for the application of corporate income tax when the conditions relating to the value of the share capital and the number of employees were met;
- 1% tax rate for micro-enterprises;
- revision of the regulation concerning the granting of tax facilities in the construction sector, as well as in the agricultural sector and in the food industry, in the sense that only individuals who obtain income from salaries and similar salaries based on individual employment contracts concluded with employers who meet the conditions provided for in Article 60, points 5 and 7 of the Tax Code will benefit from tax facilities. The provision comes into force on 1 January 2023 and applies from income for the month of January 2023;
- modification of the limit up to which tax facilities are granted in the construction sector, agricultural sector and food industry, namely from 30,000 lei monthly to 10,000 lei monthly, inclusive;
- modification of the limit up to which taxpayers determine the annual net income on the basis of income rules, namely from 100.000 euro to 25.000 euro;
- in the case of income from wages and salaries, it is proposed to introduce a monthly limit of non-taxable income, not included in the calculation bases of compulsory social contributions, of a maximum of 33% of the basic salary corresponding to the job held, on certain benefits;
- revision of the system for granting personal deductions
Changes from the original version:
- optional application of the income tax system for micro-enterprises;
- Romanian legal entities, except for those referred to in Article 47(2), may opt to apply the micro tax starting from the tax year following the one in which they meet the conditions of microenterprise provided for in Article 47(1) and if they have not been paying income tax on microenterprises after 1 January 2023, according to the provisions of this title;
- micro-enterprises may opt to pay income tax from the following tax year, with the exceptions provided for in Article 52. The option shall be communicated to the competent tax authorities in accordance with the provisions of the Tax Procedure Code;
- a newly established Romanian legal person may opt (previously in the initial version it was obliged) to pay income tax on microenterprises starting with the first fiscal year, if the conditions provided for in Article 47 paragraph (1) letter d) and e) are fulfilled at the date of registration in the trade register and that of letter b) within 30 days inclusive (previously 60 days) from the date of registration of the respective legal person. A newly established Romanian legal person intending to carry out the activities provided for in Article 47 paragraph (3) letter f)-i) is not subject to this Title;
- introduction of the provision that for the tax year 2023, the income taken into account for the establishment of the limit of 500.000 euro, the equivalent in lei, as well as the other elements constituting the taxable base, are those recorded according to the accounting regulations applicable on 31 December 2022;
- the condition relating to the holding of an employee by micro-enterprises is considered fulfilled only if the period of suspension is less than 30 days, taking into account the fact that, according to the Labour Code, the suspension of the individual employment contract has the effect of suspending the employee’s work and the payment of salary rights by the employer; in order to discourage the practice of repeated suspension of employment relationships during a fiscal year, it is proposed to limit the suspension to a single case and for a period of no more than 30 days in order for this condition, relating to the holding of an employee, to be considered fulfilled;
- the repeal, as from 1 January 2023 (not 1 August 2022 as in the initial version), of the provisions of Law no. 170/2016 on the specific tax on certain activities, published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 812 of 14 October 2016, with subsequent additions.