Moldova plans to introduce a new tax regime for freelancers in various fields - independent entrepreneur
At the last meeting of the State Chancellery, a corresponding bill was considered, proposing to introduce into the legislation the concept of "independent entrepreneur" - a new regime of independent economic activity of an individual, without registering a legal entity or other form of organization of activity. Such a tax regime is designed to legalize the activities of freelancers in various fields who provide services, while not paying taxes and working outside the legal field of activity. These include the activities of representatives of creative professions, some IT specialists, engineers, accountants, auditors, trade intermediaries, etc. - in total, it is proposed to allow the activities of independent entrepreneurs in 34 areas and for 68 names of various professions. For this category of taxpayers, it is proposed to establish a single tax of 12% - subject to the income limit of 1.2 million lei per year. The single tax will include income tax (4%), some local fees and mandatory state social insurance contributions (8%). The taxpayer must separately purchase a health insurance policy (the amount of contributions will be equivalent to that paid by individuals engaged in independent entrepreneurial activity in trade). Freelancers will notify the State Tax Service of their activities based on an electronic notification to the State Tax Service; they will be able to work without being tied to a specific location, providing services to both individuals and legal entities. In their work, freelancers will have to use a special entrepreneurial account and modern devices for tax accounting of cash payments - mobile applications that combine the functions of a POS terminal and cash register equipment. Independent entrepreneurs will be exempt from accounting; they will indicate data on their activities in the reporting form filled out on the State Tax Service website. The draft law contains the main principles for implementing the new tax regime, areas of application, restrictions for legal entities that use the services of independent entrepreneurs (within 30% of annual labor costs), etc. The explanatory note to the draft states an increase in the number of companies that seek the services of freelancers in 2018-2024 - from 4.4 thousand to 6.5 thousand, as well as an increase in expenses declared by companies as payment for the services of independent suppliers - a three-fold increase - up to 1.5 billion lei in 2024. At the same time, the number of freelancers themselves who officially provided their services reached 54.5 thousand people in 2024. There is also an increase in the number of workers who were paid for their labor using alternative methods, such as royalties. The Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization, which initiated the draft law, notes that this trend reflects the transition of the Moldovan labor market to a more complex structure and diversification of labor relations. This is the reason for the need for a flexible state policy that supports both traditional forms of employment and alternative forms of employment. The introduction of a special tax regime for freelancers from various fields will allow legalizing activities that have not yet been covered by other regimes. As expected, the introduction of the "independent entrepreneur" regime will lead to an increase in the number of legalized freelancers by 2034 to 142.2 thousand people and an increase in budget deductions by more than 6 times– almost up to 10 billion lei. The bill must be approved by the government and parliament. // 14.05.2025 – InfoMarket.
