The National Bureau of Statistics has called unfounded and false media reports that housing census data will be used to collect property taxes.
The NBS refuted these allegations and clarified the goals of the population and housing census: this is a statistical survey of a national scale, which is carried out throughout the country once every 10 years. It collects data on the country's population and housing. There are other censuses with specific objectives, such as an agricultural census (the last one was conducted in Moldova in 2011) or a business census. The purpose of the population and housing census is to compile and disseminate statistics on the demographic and socio-economic structure of the population, households and family units, the dwellings in which the population lives and living conditions, as well as the buildings in which the dwellings are located. The purpose, objects and procedure for conducting the 2024 population and housing census in our country are established by the Law on the Population and Housing Census and the government decree on the organization and conduct of the population and housing census in the Republic of Moldova in 2024. “Approvals regarding the use of the 2024 population and housing census for purposes other than from those mentioned in these regulations, including for the collection of real estate taxes, is completely unfounded and false. The purpose of collecting data on housing within the framework of the Population and Housing Census is to collect information on the standard of living of the population, equipping housing with basic amenities, such as a bathroom or shower, kitchen, sewerage system, heating installations, ramps, etc. These data are used to develop public policy at the national and local levels, administrative, research, commercial activities, etc.,” the NBS noted. They clarified that, for example, Population and Housing Census data will help determine the proportion of houses with roofs made of slate sheets, which contain substances toxic to health, as well as those vulnerable to natural disasters. This data will be used by decision makers to develop policies to support the country's people to rebuild their homes and build sustainable and safe homes. The census will also provide other indicators that are not available in the administrative data sources available to the Moldovan authorities. Currently, there are settlements in our country where large-scale cadastral work has not been carried out and, accordingly, a significant part of the houses are not registered in the Real Estate Register. Meanwhile, in populated areas of the country where large-scale cadastral work was carried out, as a rule, only the main buildings were registered. Herewith, the procedures for registering buildings in the Real Estate Register imply a certain degree of completion of buildings and for this reason many individual houses built by individuals, but not completed, are not included in the cadastral database, although people live in such houses. At the same time, the census will provide demographic and socio-economic statistical data on the country's population, integrated with spatial data, at the level of small areas, including grids with an area of 1 square km, which is extremely important for the development and implementation of social development and infrastructure projects, including for better planning of urban transport, construction of kindergartens, schools, hospitals, etc. In this context, the National Bureau of Statistics calls on representatives of the media and the population to be well informed about the purpose and progress of the census work, including on the basis of various information posted on the official website of the National Bureau of Statistics https://www.statistica.gov.md, on the page dedicated to the residence permit. The NBS stated that it guarantees that the collected data will be used solely for statistical purposes, to produce official population and housing statistics that will be available to the public, and in no case for other purposes such as those mentioned in the article. The NBS emphasizes the importance of participation of all residents of the country in the census. “Knowledge of the real demographic situation in each locality of the country depends on the participation of every resident of the country in the census and on the provision of correct and complete answers!” the NBS emphasized. // 22.01.2024 — InfoMarket.
