Press Review - August 1, 2017

08.01.2017 By Oana Gavrila

Finance Minister: Budget Revision Will Be Positive

The budget revision will be positive and the tax authority has exceeded its collection targets for July, said finance minister Ionut Misa on Realitatea TV.

He said the budget deficit will be kept within the EU limit of 3% of GDP.

Misa said a date for the revision has not been set yet but gave assurance investment funds won't be slashed.

Employers Forced to Pay Social Contributions for Min Wage for Part-Time Workers

A government decree forcing employers to pay social security contributions for part-time workers at the level of the minimum wage takes effect on August 1.

The measure is applied starting income earned in August 2017.

The ordinance seeks to tackle tax evasion in cases where workers have part-time contracts but work full time and employers pay social security contributions for part-time.

Exemptions apply to students up to 26 years old, apprentices, pensioners, workers with more than one part-time or full-time contract whose total monthly income exceeds minimum wage, and people with disabilities.

Labor Minister: Government To Tackle Special Pensions

An emergency decree regarding special pensions will be discussed at the Cabinet meeting Wednesday or Friday at the latest, said labor minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu, adding the draft was sent to the Defense and Interior ministries.

Vasilescu said the decree will likely be adopted this week and special pensions will no longer be tied to income of active employees.

“We made corrections so that pensions are no longer updated to salaries in payment. This would have doubled special pensions in a few years, which the state budget cannot handle. Another sound principle is that no pension may exceed a net salary for the same position,” the minister said.

She said the same principles will be applied to pensions for lawmakers, which will be discussed this fall.

Over 270 High Schools To Get EUR152,000 To Lower Dropout Rates

Over 270 high schools in Romania will have four-year programs funded with grants of up to EUR152,000 targeting to lower dropout rates, raise graduation rates and improve exam results, the Education Ministry announced.

The 271 schools in question benefit from grants under the Romania Secondary Education Project (ROSE).

Depending on the number of students enrolled and high school graduation exam results, high schools get grants of EUR70,000 to EUR152,500.

Total financing for the first round of grants is EUR18.35 million.