Marcel Ciolacu Inquam Photos / Sabin Cirstoveanu
The government has cut from the facilities of three sectors: agriculture, construction, IT. After the finance minister said that for the farmers we pray for the rain, the constructions will receive contracts from the state, and the IT-ists are stable, the reaction came from the employers who make software.
“The government, through the voice of the Deputy Prime Minister Tanczos Barna, comes now and shares his impressions about the three industries hit by the train: in short, the builders are fine, the state still gives them contracts (for that does not say anything); farmers have received money for the floods, one after the other, and God help us to have a good agricultural year. Corina Vasile in financial journal, in an opinion entitled “Governance based on impressions and prayers”.
Corina Vasile is the executive director of the Association of Employers of the Software and Services Industry (ANIS) and was a journalist, editor-in-chief of the Financial Journal.
The representative of software entrepreneurs accuses the government of using perceptions and impressions, not reality, when talking about the IT industry.
“The private environment does not allow decisions based on impressions and prayers – jobs, contracts with customers, suppliers to be paid, budgets to be delivered to shareholders are at stake. And yes, the taxes to be given to the State, but not increased overnight”, says Corina Vasile.
The measure aimed at the IT sector was made without consultation with the business environment and employees and with “ignorance” of the Fiscal Responsibility Law “, according to which any fiscal change must be made at least 6 months before the application, it attracts attention.
“We already have signals from companies that they will sue the Government for violating the Fiscal Responsibility Law,” says Corina Vasile.
She describes the Government’s measure as “procyclical, likely to decrease the budget contributions of the IT sector in the next period”.
“The government missed the opportunity to accelerate digitization”
The IT industry has a major impact on the economy, writes Vasile, but it is in a moment of stagnation, and the Government should find additional incentives for the Romanian IT sector.
“The previous government lost the opportunity to accelerate digitization, even with funding provided by PNRR and other European programs, so it does not support an internal market for local industry. In a moment of stagnation, it is normal to find additional incentives for an industry with a major impact on the economy today, when there is no competitiveness without digitization. Especially since the IT sector is already the number 2 contributor among the sectors economic to the total of taxes paid,” says Corina Vasile.
Impact of facility removal on IT
The elimination of the facility will reduce the profitability of the sector by a third, and the amounts collected from the profit tax will decrease proportionally, says Corina Vasile, who presents data showing the contribution of the IT industry to the budget.
“By 2022, IT companies were in the top 5 contributors to the state budget through VAT paid. What does the decrease in business mean? Less VAT paid to the budget. IT professionals are the first contributor to social security budgets – about 56,000 lei / IT professionals in 2023. Fewer IT employees, possibly lower salaries – less money in the budget,” he says Corina Vasile.
“The government has removed during the night a facility with a very low cost to the budget, which has proven its economic efficiency, and will lose much more in terms of budget money, economic development and jobs”, concludes the representative of the software entrepreneurs.
