Moldovan Parliament adopts in the first reading the draft fiscal and customs policy for 2023.
According to Finance Minister Dumitru Budianschi, the main objectives of the document are: identification of tools for economic growth, simplification of the mechanism of calculation and payment of taxes and fees, improvement of tax reporting processes, harmonization with the European Union legislation. "The fiscal and customs policies for 2023 offer a number of important measures to help businesses. By supporting the business environment, we will save jobs, we will contribute to the accumulation of income in the private sector - the main source of future development," said Dumitru Budianschi. The Finance Minister also said that 2023 will be a year with strong specific challenges, and in these circumstances, the policy of the state is to support citizens, primarily through targeted assistance to the most unprotected categories of people. In particular, the document contains a number of proactive measures which will contribute to creating better conditions for economic development, among which: introduction of zero profit tax rate for micro, small and medium enterprises, in case of undistributed net profit related to 2023-2025 fiscal years; accelerated depreciation of investments for big enterprises; implementation of the VAT refund concept for the sum accumulated from January 1, 2023; reverse charge of VAT on services import. Also, the draft fiscal and customs policy for 2023 provides for measures to increase revenues of local public administration authorities, particularly of town halls, including by redistributing certain taxes. At the same time, the ceiling values of food stamps will be raised from 35 to 55 lei and from 55 to 70 lei, and the ceiling value of fixed assets, on which the depreciation for tax purposes will be accrued, will be raised from 6,000 to 12,000 lei. The draft also provides for amendments to the law on the unified payroll system in the public sector. Thus, the minimum salary of public sector employees will be increased from 3,500 to 4,000 lei. At the same time, the term of trade on basis of patent will be extended till July 1, 2023, while 100% of revenues from fees for using roads will be transferred to local budgets as general-purpose transfers. According to the draft, the new Customs Code of Moldova will take effect on July 1, 2023. As InfoMarket News Agency earlier reported, the draft of the Fiscal and Customs Policy for 2023 does not stipulate raising of personal exemptions for citizens, exemptions for dependants, etc., next year. At the same time, it was proposed to return to the progressive rate of income tax - citizens with income over 1 million lei will pay to the budget 18% of income received. Employees of ICT parks and workers in the field of cab transportation will be eligible for personal exemption under the general procedure. The project intends to revise the principles of taxation of non-residents and the regime of taxation of income on interest paid in favor of resident individuals. Some VAT exemptions will be abolished: for postal services (except for distribution of pensions and social benefits), scooters with electric motor, import and delivery of certain categories of vehicles, services for operational or financial leasing of aircraft, import and delivery of waste ferrous and nonferrous metals. Producers of perfumes and cosmetics will be deprived of the excise tax exemption. At the same time, the introduction of a reverse taxation regime and transfer pricing mechanism will begin (from 2024). The maximum and specific property tax/land tax rates will be eliminated to allow local governments to plan the rates of these taxes every 3 years. It is planned to increase from 1.5 million to 2 million lei the assessed value of residential real estate (one of the criteria for tax assignment) whose owners pay property tax. It is proposed to introduce a road tax for the use of public road zone and/or protected area outside the perimeter of settlements for the placement of road service facilities, etc. The Ministry of Finance revised the provision to raise the income tax rate which is imposed on individuals' deposits - instead of 12% as initially envisaged by the draft, the deposits are proposed to be taxed at 7% (today - 3%). Also, the Ministry of Finance did not support the position of the tobacco industry representatives who spoke out against the acceleration of excise policy: the draft provides that in 2023 excise duty rates on tobacco and similar products will increase by 25%. Excise duties on ethyl alcohol will increase by 15% in 2023. Overall, the bill provides for changes to more than 20 laws and regulations. The impact of the proposed changes is expected to be neutral and the amount of additional revenues to the budget will be almost equal to the amount that will not be received. // 12.12.2021 – InfoMarket
