German investors describe Romania's fiscal system as flawed

A survey of carried out by the tax audit advisory company Leitner Leitner found that more than two thirds of executives of German, Austrian or Swiss companies running operations in Romania rate the local fiscal structure as highly unstable versus 29% of rate it as unstable. "It is difficult for a company to invest here without knowing the government's long-term strategy. Business plans are made for more than a year, but when fiscal laws are changed and made public before becoming effective, devising a business plan is a difficult job from the start. Detailed planning is very important, but the current fiscal environment has a major disadvantage compared to other countries", said Rene Schob, partner at LeitnerLeitner.

Respondents of the survey said the laws published in the Official Gazette are difficult to grasp, enforce and follow. Only 39% of the respondents said they use Official Gazette as the main source of information in the fiscal area, while 44% use independent tax consultants or media channels (14%).

Fiscal authorities are bureaucratic, rigid and without sufficient expertise, survey found. Only 25% of the respondents said local fiscal authorities are responsive and 27% say the have the necessary expertise in the field.