Fitch: Romania’s draft 2019 budget is based on optimistic assumptions, new taxes could hit business environment, investment and economic growth

Sorin Melenciuc 05/02/2019 | 15:17

Romania’s draft 2019 budget is based on optimistic assumptions, while the new taxes could hit the business environment, investment and economic growth, according to Fitch Ratings, which still maintain Romania’a rating on the last notch in the investment grade area.

The budget published by the Ministry of Public Finance on 31 January targets a reduction in the general government budget deficit (on an ESA basis) to 2.6 percent of GDP from 3 percent in 2018.

“This would represent a moderate fiscal tightening and be a step towards strengthening the public finances and reducing economic imbalances,” Fitch Ratings says.

Fitch projected a 2019 deficit of 3.5 percent of GDP when it affirmed Romania’s ‘BBB-‘/Stable sovereign rating in November 2018.

“Our next forecast update will reassess this in the light of the final 2019 budget that is approved by parliament and further information about the bank tax, which was introduced by emergency ordinance in December,” the rating agency said.

However, Fitch is skeptical that the 2.6 percent target will be achieved, given the government’s optimistic growth and revenue assumptions.

The draft budget projects expenditure to grow by 13.4 percent, but specific new revenue raising measures in the budget are only worth around a net RON 3.3 billion (0.3 percent of GDP).

“The budget is based on a GDP growth forecast of 5.5 percent, much higher than Fitch’s projection of 3.2 percent. It projects nominal revenue growth of 15.7 percent, far in excess of nominal GDP growth, and assumes revenue gains from fighting tax evasion of 0.7 percent of GDP,” Fitch analysts indicate.

Moreover, presidential elections due in late 2019 will make it challenging to cut expenditure if revenues undershoot the government’s optimistic assumptions, the agency underlines.

The draft budget targets a further deficit reduction to 2.5 percent of GDP in 2020, 2.2 percent in 2021 and 1.8 percent in 2022.

The targets for 2019-2021 are higher than the government’s commitments to the European Commission in its letter of 18 October 2018. The Commission has yet to respond publicly to the draft budget.

The 2018 general budget deficit (ESA basis) was 3 percent of GDP, in line with the government’s target and Fitch’s forecast.

However, it was met with the help of one-off measures, which will be difficult to sustain in 2019, according to Fitch.

“Curiously, the draft 2019 budget appears to omit revenues from the new bank tax. The only revenue lines related to December’s emergency ordinance are RON 0.8 billion from turnover taxes on energy and telecom companies, RON 0.5 billion from higher taxes on gambling, and RON 0.6 billion from higher tobacco excise taxes (totally 0.2 percent of GDP); as well as RON 1.5 billion in additional SOE dividends from reserves,” the agency notes.

It is therefore unclear whether the bank tax (which is already in force) will be amended, added to a later draft of the budget or remain outside the formal budget.

To the extent that revenues from the bank tax are excluded from the budget, they provide a modest fiscal buffer, which we estimate could amount to around RON 3 billion – RON 4 billion this year assuming a quarterly tax of 0.3 percent on financial assets.

In Fitch’s view, an increase in taxes that helped reduce the budget deficit would strengthen Romania’s public finances and reduce economic overheating risks, which have been key downside risks to the sovereign rating.

“However, aspects of the new taxes risk damaging policy credibility and offsetting the potential benefit to the public finances. These include the lack of consultation over the bank tax (including with the National Bank of Romania), the lack of an impact assessment, as well as an absence of clarity over how it operates, its populist labelling as a “tax on greed” and aspects of its design,” Fitch says.

“These could adversely impact the business environment, investment and economic growth, potentially leading to a partially offsetting fall in tax revenues,” the agency added.

The increasing incidence of the bank tax as the interbank ROBOR rate exceeds a benchmark rate of 2 percent could complicate the transmission of monetary policy and reduce banks’ internal capital generation as interest rates rise, according to the rating agency.

If banks pass on the cost of the tax to retail borrowers this could dampen demand for credit, Fitch indicates.

On January 25, Fitch Ratings, one of the three major global rating agencies, said that it has revised the outlook to negative from stable on BCR and BRD-Groupe Societe Generale, two of the largest Romanian banks, warning that it estimates a greater risk of government intervention in the Romanian banking sector, in case of a sovereign default.

BR Magazine | Latest Issue

Download PDF: Business Review Magazine March (II) 2024 Issue

The March (II) 2024 issue of Business Review Magazine is now available in digital format, featuring the main cover story titled “BAT DBS Romania Hub: A Vibrant New Office For An Employee-Centric
Sorin Melenciuc | 27/03/2024 | 17:32
Advertisement Advertisement
Close ×

We use cookies for keeping our website reliable and secure, personalising content and ads, providing social media features and to analyse how our website is used.

Accept & continue