Chamber of Deputies vetoes President’s reexamination request on 102 taxes law

The Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday vetoed the reexamination of the law on cancelling 102 non-fiscal taxes. The decision was passed by 174 votes to 85 and one abstention.

The budgetary committee passed an amendment saying the law will come into force as of January 1st, 2017 as soon as it is published in the Official Gazette.

The budgetary committee of the lower chamber had also vetoed President Iohannis’ request for re-examination of the law cutting 102 taxes. The decision was passed 13 votes to nine and one abstention.

The Social Democrat Viorel Stefan argued that the Constitutional Court had established the law is constitutional.

“The law should come into force as of January 1, 2017. There are 102 taxes. The cut of the radio TV tax should reflect in the budgets of the two public services,” the SocDem MP said.

“The president’s request refers to the opportunity of the law and not to its constitutionality,” he added.

The UDMR deputy Erdei Istvan has requested to delete the article on eliminating the radio TV tax, but his proposal was vetoed 10 votes to 13.

The Chamber’s plenary sitting is to debate the committee’s report.

President Klaus Iohannis sent the law cutting down more than 100 taxes in Parliament for re-examination five days ago.

“The fiscal-budgetary policies of the state, as well as their enforcement represent the duties of the executive and legislative authorities and are not applying to the constitutional control. From this perspective, although the law cutting taxes has been declared constitutional related to the criticism, we consider it has to be re-analysed in the Parliament in terms of its effects on the citizens,” president Iohannis argues.

He stressed that tax cuts should be accompanied by an improvement of the administrative procedures and by a budgetary discipline.

“Simplification of the procedures between citizens and authorities, as well as diminution of the fiscal burden necessarily imply responsible, coherent, efficient and predictable laws,” Iohannis stated.

A week ago, Romania’s Constitutional Court ruled that the law cutting down 102 taxes is constitutional, thus rejecting the appeal filed by President Klaus Iohannis in November. The law has been tabled by the Social Democratic Party and the Parliament passed it in emergency procedure on October 25.