Moldova plans to bring at least 440 thousand freelancers into the legal labor market through a new tax regime for “independent entrepreneurs”
The Ministry of Economic Development and Infrastructure held public consultations on draft amendments to legislation aimed at regulating the activities of independent entrepreneurs, in particular freelancers. The Ministry of Economic Development and Infrastructure noted that the initiative provides for a simplified tax regime, the elimination of bureaucratic and accounting reporting, and access to social protection and health insurance for people who choose to create and work independently in various fields (IT specialists, designers, photographers, nannies, and mechanics). The Ministry draws attention to international trends. In Romania, Poland, and the Czech Republic, freelancers make up about 25% of the workforce, and in the US, it is expected that in the next two years, half of the workforce will work as independent entrepreneurs. As previously reported by the InfoMarket agency, the bill proposes to introduce the concept of “independent entrepreneur” into the legal framework—a new regime of independent economic activity for individuals without registration as a legal entity or other form of business organization. This tax regime is intended to legalize the activities of freelancers in various fields who provide services without paying taxes and working outside the legal field of activity. These include representatives of creative professions, some IT specialists, engineers, accountants, auditors, trade intermediaries, etc. In total, it is proposed to allow independent entrepreneurs to operate in 34 areas and for 68 different professions. For this category of taxpayers, it is proposed to establish a flat tax of 12%, subject to an income limit of 1.2 million lei per year. The flat tax will include income tax (4%), certain local taxes, and mandatory state social insurance contributions (8%). Taxpayers must purchase health insurance separately (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 by means of an electronic notification to the State Tax Service, and they will be able to work without being tied to a specific location and provide services to both individuals and legal entities. In their work, freelancers will have to use a special business 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 a reporting form filled out on the State Tax Service website. The draft law contains the basic principles for implementing the new tax regime, its scope of application, restrictions for legal entities that use the services of independent entrepreneurs (within 30% of annual labor costs), etc. // 27.05.2025 — InfoMarket.
