The business environment is currently opposed to any tax increases

Maintaining the flat tax rate, reducing tax evasion, simplifying and debureaucratizing administrative processes, reducing state spending and accelerating the absorption of European funds are the requirements of the business environment in our country that were presented by its representatives yesterday, at the Cotroceni Palace, at the meeting they had with President Nicuşor Dan. Representatives of the most influential employers' organizations and chambers of commerce in Romania were present at the discussions: the Concordia Employers' Confederation, the National Council of Small and Medium-sized Private Enterprises in Romania, the Foreign Investors Council, Romanian Business Leaders, the American, French and German-Romanian Chambers of Commerce.

The country's president did not come up with concrete solutions, but indicated that a package of measures to reduce the deficit must be decided by June 30, after which reconstruction and development measures will be discussed.

President Nicuşor Dan said: "I hope it will be the first of many meetings that we will have and I would propose to you, because you know that it is a difficult moment for Romania's fiscal policy, to divide the discussion into two: what to do before June 30 when we have to prepare a package for the second half of 2025 in which to take some measures for the deficit, I hope as many spending cuts as possible, and after June 30, when to talk about construction matters."

The participants reaffirmed their commitment to the country's economic stability, advocating for efficient and sustainable measures that support public finances in the long term. In his speech, Dan Şucu, President of Concordia, highlighted the importance of the feedback institution in decision-making, emphasizing that the authorities must monitor the application and efficiency of the measures adopted, adjusting them where necessary.

"There is something that is essential in business: it is called the institution of feedback. After you have made a decision, you have to see how that decision is applied, if it works, if it doesn't work, how you can improve it. This is essential in a society and it is essential, in my opinion, for the Romanian Government and the Romanian state to do this as well," said Dan Ţucu, who mentioned that the business environment opposes the increase in taxes and the priority must be to reduce public spending and reform local and central public administration. Representatives of the other employer confederations, as well as members of the chambers of commerce mentioned above, were of the same opinion.

In fact, the business environment also presented a set of clear and urgent proposals for the future government, which refer to reducing budget spending by eliminating excessive privileges, freezing the increase in state spending at the level of inflation, assessing the sustainability of salary and pension increases and reducing waste in the public system, including by respecting corporate governance in state-owned companies. Business people have drawn attention to the fact that, in order to achieve fiscal-budgetary balance, maintaining the flat rate must be complemented with realistic measures to reduce the deficit, firmly combat tax evasion, eliminate overtaxation of part-time work and abandon populist price capping measures that distort the market.

For debureaucratization, the business community proposes a structured approach, with a dedicated government unit, politically supported, to eliminate unnecessary regulations and rapidly digitize administrative processes, even demanding the appointment of a deputy prime minister responsible for digitization, who would implement concrete solutions in areas with major impact on citizens and companies. Simplifying access to European funds, reducing bureaucracy in project evaluation, predictability of payments from the state to the private sector and reducing abusive tax controls are other measures considered by the business community as priorities for streamlining the relationship between the private sector and the state.

In terms of investment, employers' associations support the acceleration of attracting European funds by operationalizing the reforms in the PNRR, releasing funds related to the 2021-2027 financial framework and completing ongoing infrastructure projects. Developing skills through vocational training vouchers and efficiently reallocating resources from unviable projects are measures that can decisively contribute to increasing the competitiveness of the Romanian economy, business people also support.

In practice, expectations are firm: entrepreneurs demand a real partnership with the future government, in which public policies are built in support of private initiative, not against it. In a period marked by economic volatility and political uncertainty, business people need stability, support and trust to continue to create jobs, value and development.