Press Review - October 24, 2017

10.24.2017 By Oana Gavrila

PM Tudose Proposes Ex-PM Sorin Grindeanu for Telecom Regulator Head

Romanian Prime Minister Mihai Tudose on Monday proposed former prime minister Sorin Grindeanu for head of the telecom regulator ANCOM, whose chief resigned.

The proposition was sent to Parliament and Grindeanu will be heard in the specialized parliament committees.

Former ANCOM head Adrian Dita resigned Friday after just five months on the job. He was previously public affairs manager with Telekom Romania.

UDMR To Oppose VAT Split Bill in Parliament

The Hungarian minority party UDMR announced it will vote against a bill forcing companies to have separate payment accounts for the value-added tax, a measure criticized by the business environment and analysts.

“Seeing as this split VAT mechanism causes more problems than it solves, we stand by the business environment and call on the government to discard this plan. Should this bill move on to Parliament, UDMR will vote against it,” said party MP Erdei Istvan.

He also called on the finance minister to withdraw the bill during a debate on split VAT in the lower house of Parliament.

Opposition liberals criticized the measure during debates, saying it was “stupid”, while PMP called on the finance minister to resign and accused him of intending to introduce more taxes.

Senate chairman and coalition partner leader Calin Popescu Tariceanu said last week split VAT will be mandatory as of January 1 for companies under insolvency and those with bad payment records. He said the measure remains optional for other businesses.

Consumer Authority Fines 15 Banks for Misleading Advertising

Romania's consumer protection authority has fined 15 banks for misleading advertising and failing to properly inform customers of exchange rate and interest risks.

The authority said it looked into the practices of banks during the period August 28 - October 6 and applied fines totaling RON570,000 to 15 banks.

Ruling Party Senator Calls for Dismissal of Finance Minister

Social democrat senator Eugen Teodorovici, head of the Senate's budget-finance committee, said Monday finance minister Ionut Misa should be replaced immediately over comments on the solidarity tax.

“I think and hope today is Mr. Misa's last visit to Parliament as finance minister,”  Teodorovici, adding it is unacceptable for a finance minister to publicly announce tax measures only to be contradicted by the prime minister.

Misa said last week a 2% solidarity tax for employers would go to an employee protection fund in case employers go insolvent. The minister said 90% of this tax revenue would go to the state budget.