Playing hide and seek with fiscal amnesty: Only state companies might benefit from debt write-off, breaching EU legislation

Anca Alexe 23/07/2018 | 15:11

Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici said over the weekend that the fiscal amnesty the government is planning would mainly target state companies with historical debts. The minister also suggested that the amnesty would not include individuals, despite the fact that he had said the opposite in the first few statements he made on the issue. A decision will be made towards the end of August, according to G4Media.

“We’re looking at state companies first. Most of them have historical debts and no decision has been made. In past discussion with the IMF, they asked us why we keep these non-recoverable amounts in our records. We have thought of ways to change this situation and give these companies a chance to become active players on the market. We may take such a measure,” Teodorovici stated for Antena 3.

Teodorovici was asked several times whether the amnesty will also target individuals, but he has avoided a clear response, suggesting that it will only apply to state companies.

“The measure will be taken so as to follow the European regulations related to state help,” Teodorovici said. The European Union does not allow the write-off of debts of state companies as it is considered an anti-competitive practice.