Romanian entrepreneurs demand an end to fiscal chaos and predictability

While the state continues to invent taxes, erect bureaucratic barriers and fuel legislative chaos, starting with the Ciolacu government, which threw the private sector into a fiscal storm through law 296/2023, and reaching the two packages of fiscal measures imposed by the Bolojan government, small and medium-sized entrepreneurs are clearly saying that their patience has reached its limit and are demanding only one thing - stability, as emerged from the speeches delivered at the 33rd edition of the National Top of Private Companies in Romania - Top of SMEs in Romania.

"Let's give up on that nonsense that is the minimum turnover tax”, said Florin Jianu, president of IMM Romania, expressing the voice of hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs suffocated by political decisions taken without consulting social partners and without economic discernment.

The President of IMM Romania said bluntly that the entrepreneurial environment has been thrown into a year of "resilience, not investment”, a year in which companies have had to "survive, not develop”. With almost 900,000 companies analyzed for the National Top of Private Companies in Romania and over 600,000 that reported profit for 2024, Florin Jianu drew attention to the fact that "the true champions of Romania are the entrepreneurs who teach us the lesson of courage, perseverance and responsibility”. The President of IMM Romania stressed that these champions have to fight a state that hinders them at every step.

"My colleagues asked me to make an appeal to politicians: let's leave the minimum wage in the economy as it is this year, stimulate SMEs as other countries do, and give up that nonsense that is the minimum turnover tax, because it affects small and medium-sized enterprises,” said Florin Jianu, promising that "in 2026 we will have a firmer voice than this year.”

He also announced major projects for the near future: our country is among the first seven member states involved in the construction of an artificial intelligence factory, and SME Romania will develop a consolidated partnership with the European institutions - the European Parliament, the European Commission, the European Economic and Social Council - so that Romania "has a stronger voice” in cohesion policies, in the European semester and in all decisions from which, too often, our voice is missing.

The data is impressive: Romanian companies reported a total turnover of 2,469 billion lei (494 billion euros) and a cumulative profit of 48 billion euros. Of these, SMEs achieved double the profit of large companies, and the companies present in the National Top of Private Companies in Romania had a cumulative turnover of 2.3 billion euros, a profit of 200 million and have 14,500 employees. However, entrepreneurs say that they can no longer make long-term plans in a fiscal climate that changes every few months.

Radu Burnete, presidential advisor, spoke about the real size of this problem. "In Romania today there are over 800,000 small and medium-sized enterprises, which represent 99.7% of all companies. They employ 66% of the private sector workforce and generate 56% of the economy's gross added value. When we talk about SMEs, we are talking about the economy itself.” Burnete showed that entrepreneurs' confidence in the economy has collapsed: in 2023, 61% believed in the positive evolution of the economy, in 2024 only 50%, and in 2025 only 34.69%. The cause? "Lack of fiscal predictability”, "excessive bureaucracy” and "lack of access to financing”. He explained in concrete terms how each fiscal change means weeks of additional work and costs of tens of thousands of euros for an SME, and bureaucracy prevents entrepreneurs from dealing with innovation and customers. "Large companies have departments dedicated to the relationship with the state. SMEs do not have this luxury. For them, bureaucracy means that the owner runs after documents and approvals instead of developing the business.” Burnete recalled that 45% of SMEs are self-financed, growing from their own resources, "an entrepreneurial heroism” that actually hides a structural problem: the lack of access to bank financing and investment. "The President of Romania understands these challenges,” added the advisor, emphasizing the need for a genuine partnership between the state and the private sector, based on real dialogue, fiscal stability and digitalization.

Although the Bolojan government talks about "correcting measures,” the facts are still not visible. Mihai Jurca, head of the Prime Minister's Chancellery, tried to reassure entrepreneurs by stating that "IMCA (minimum turnover tax) must become a solution of the past, not one of the future" and that the government's objective is "to increase from 30% to 50% the number of entrepreneurs who believe that the business environment will develop during the next-periode”.

Petre Florin Manole, the Minister of Labor, avoided a clear answer about the increase in the minimum wage from January 1, 2026, but promised that "as long as I am a minister, I will try not to interfere with your activity”. At the event organized by the National Council of Small and Medium-sized Private Enterprises in Romania (IMM Romania), apart from the Minister of Labor and the Head of the Prime Minister's Chancellery, the other members of the Government did not honor the invitations sent. The absence of the members of the Bologna Cabinet from the National Top of Private Companies was criticized by Victor Negrescu, Vice President of the European Parliament: "This absence is regrettable, because the pro-European political class must express solidarity with entrepreneurs and assume difficult decisions”. Negrescu emphasized that "Europe for entrepreneurs means less bureaucracy and more trust”, recalling that he supported the European packages "SME Relief” and "Omnibus simplification”, which reduce bureaucracy by 35% and propose the creation of a "Single European Office for SMEs”. The entrepreneurs in the room were, in turn, the voice of a real Romania, tired of promises and burdened by taxes. The representative of the company Arhivatorul said bluntly: "Our rulers take care to put the hard things on us and ensure a menu every day: in the morning breakfast with the smell of taxes, at noon stress with the smell of VAT and in the evening stress completed with the smell of penalties.” The representative of New Design Composite SRL added that the entrepreneurs "demonstrated resilience in the face of any crisis, became stronger and never gave up on creating the economic vision of the country”. Rodica Baciu, from Materom SRL, conveyed with dignity that "we resisted the fight against multinationals, we did not sell our businesses - although many entrepreneurs did it for next to nothing - and we continue with the same values that ensured our success: generosity, modesty, integrity, respect and excellence”. Vasile Margin, from Orizont Electric SRL, called for "simplification of legislation so that those who want to invest can do it much more easily”, and the representative of Brightlog SRL said directly: "We, the entrepreneurs, are driving the economy. Without us, the Government would have nothing to do. We do not want incentives, we just want to be left alone, to do our job, not to sit all day reading laws that change from one day to the next.” In a room full of people who keep Romania alive through their work, the speeches turned into a manifesto of the private sector: for economic freedom, for stability, for respect. Entrepreneurs no longer ask for favors, but only for a state that will not stand in their way. They no longer believe in fiscal improvisations, they no longer accept that their plans are sacrificed from one ordinance to another. Entrepreneurial Romania wants predictability, it wants partnership, it wants a voice that counts. And their message, conveyed with lucidity and courage, is clear: without entrepreneurs there is no economy, without the economy there is no Romania.