Recent amendments and developments of the Romanian Tax Legislation
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14 Septembrie 2011 |
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S.P.R.L MENZER & BACHMANN - NOERR |
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Strada General Budişteanu Constantin, Nr. 28C
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Government Ordinance no. 30/2011 amending and supplementing Law no. 571/2003 regarding the Fiscal Code and regulating certain financial-fiscal measures
The Government Ordinance no. 30/2011 regarding the Fiscal Code, as well as for regulating certain financialfiscal measures, was published in the Official Gazette no. 627 as of 2nd September 2011. Among the main amendments we hereby mention:
CONCEPT OF FIDUCIARY AGREEMENT
- the concept of fiduciary agreement is introduced and a series of articles regulating the profits tax, the taxation of the non-residents (i.e. the withholding tax), the income tax and the local taxes corresponding to the taxation of the fiduciary agreements (the concept enters into force when Law no. 287/2009 regarding the Civil Code, as republished, enters into force, namely on 01.10.2011);
PROFITS TAX
- new categories of deductible expenses are introduced: expenses incurred by the tax payers with the evaluation/re-evaluation of the tangible fixed assets received in concession/administration, which belong to the public domain of the state or to the territorial administrative authorities (applicable on the date of the entry into force of this Ordinance – 5.09.2011);
- completions are brought with respect to the taxation of the association with or without legal personality (i.e. association with legal personality incorporated in another state), (applicable starting with 1st January 2012);
- it is introduced the possibility that starting with 1st January 2013, the tax payers (except for the banking institutions, the non-profit organisations and the tax payers obtaining most of their income from the cultivation of cereals and technical plants) may opt for declaring and paying the annual profit tax with advanced payments performed quarterly amounting a quarter of the tax owed in the previous year, updated with the consumer price index (applicable starting with 1st January 2012);
- the option for advanced payment will be performed at the beginning of the year for which the request is made and will be maintained for a mandatory period of minimum 2 years (applicable starting with 1st January 2012);
- an amendment is introduced regarding the submission date of the annual profit tax return, meaning that this will be submitted until 25th March of the next year, except for certain tax payers (e.g. non-profit organisations and the tax payers obtaining most of their income from the cultivation of cereals and technical plants), (applicable starting with 1st January 2012).
INCOME TAX
- an amendment is introduced according to which the natural persons, who are residents of states with which Romania has not concluded Conventions for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and who fulfil the conditions for residence in Romania (i.e. they are present in Romania more than 183 days in 12 consecutive months or the centre of their vital interests is in Romania), will pay income tax for the income obtained from any source, both from Romania and abroad, starting with the date of 1st January of the next year following the year in which they have become residents; in the first year in which they fulfil the residence conditions they pay income tax only for the income obtained from Romania (applicable starting with 1st January 2012);
- it is maintained the obligation for the payment of the tax on income from any sources (from the entire world) for a period of 3 years following the year in which the Romanian resident natural persons, with their domicile in Romania, change their residence to a state with which Romania has not concluded a Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation (applicable starting with 1st January 2012);
- new deadlines for declaration and payment are introduced (applicable starting with the income of the month October 2011):
- quarterly payment of the tax for the payers of income from salaries and assimilated to the salaries which fulfil certain conditions (i.e. legal persons paying profits tax, which in the previous year recorded total revenues less than EUR 100,000/year and an average number of employees up to 3, microenterprises with maximum 3 employees in the previous year, self-employed persons, individual enterprises, associations between natural persons without legal personality, whose personnel is employed based on individual employment agreement) will be performed until the date of 25th of the month following the quarter for which this income is paid;
- the submission deadline for the annual return regarding the income realised in the fiscal year is until 25th May next year (applicable starting with 1st January 2012);
- the fiscal records (Rom. “fisele fiscale”) are replaced by the statement regarding the assessment and withholding of the tax for each income beneficiary – deadline for submission at the end of February next year (applicable starting with 1st January 2012);
- amendments are introduced in case of the income from independent activities for which the anticipated tax is withheld at source (10%), so that the income payer will apply the quota of 10% to the gross income minus the mandatory social contributions withheld at source (applicable starting with 1st January 2012).
WITHHOLDING TAX
- a provision is introduced regarding the tax exemption for the income obtained by non-resident natural persons following the participation in another state in a gambling games whose funds of winnings originate also from Romania (applicable starting with 1st January 2012);
- the submission deadline of the statement regarding the tax assessed and withheld for each income beneficiary is amended (the return for the non-residents), the new deadline is until the end of February (applicable starting with 1st January 2012).
VALUE ADDED TAX
- it is removed the provision according to which, in the case of the agreements generating successive payments (constructions – assembly, consultancy etc.), the settlement and, respectively, the collection of the VAT has to be performed at least annually (applicable on the date of the entry into force of this Ordinance – 5.09.2011);
- the submission deadline of the recapitulative return is amended, namely the date of 25th of the following month (applicable starting with the August 2011 declaration);
- the waste categories are defined (i.e. ferrous waste, non-ferrous waste, waste of recyclable materials and used recyclable materials consisting in paper, cardboard paper and cardboard, textile material, rubber and plastic, glass pieces and glass) which are subject to the simplification measures and for which the reverse taxation is applied (applicable on the date of the entry into force of this Ordinance – 5.09.2011).
