Legal and fiscal news for 2017

Starting with 2017 a series of legislative changes will take place. Some are applicable from the 1st of January, the others from the 1st of February. We have grouped them in several main categories:

The corporate income tax:

  • The taxpayers engaged exclusively in innovation, research and development activities will be exempted from profit tax in the first 10 years of service;
  • Will be extended the deadline for the tax exemption regarding reinvested profit in technological equipment, computers, electronics and peripheral equipment, and also software.

The income tax for microcompanies

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Starting with 2017 a series of legislative changes will take place. Some are applicable from the 1st of January, the others from the 1st of February. We have grouped them in several main categories:

The corporate income tax:

  • The taxpayers engaged exclusively in innovation, research and development activities will be exempted from profit tax in the first 10 years of service;
  • Will be extended the deadline for the tax exemption regarding reinvested profit in technological equipment, computers, electronics and peripheral equipment, and also software.

The income tax for microcompanies

Starting with 2017 a series of legislative changes will take place. Some are applicable from the 1st of January, the others from the 1st of February. We have grouped them in several main categories:

The corporate income tax:

  • The taxpayers engaged exclusively in innovation, research and development activities will be exempted from profit tax in the first 10 years of service;
  • Will be extended the deadline for the tax exemption regarding reinvested profit in technological equipment, computers, electronics and peripheral equipment, and also software.

The income tax for microcompanies

  • Will be changed the limit up to which a legal person is considered microcompany from 100.000 euros to 500.000 euros. Nonetheless, a company can choose to pay the profit tax if it has capital of over 45.000 lei.
  • For the year 2017, the companies who pay the profit tax  in 2016 which on the 31th of December satisfy the conditions of turnover below 500.000 euro are compelled to pay income tax for microcompanies from the 1st of February 2017. The change of the tax system will be communicated to the tax authorities until February 25, deadline by which will be submited even the statement on corporation tax for the due taxable profit obtained during the period 1 to 31 January 2017.
  • Tax rates for microcompanies will change. The new tax rates will be of 1% for microcompanies with one or more employees and 3% for microcompanies without employees.

Income tax:

  • Seasonal activities: individuals will be exempt from income tax for incomes from salaries and assimilated to salaries from conducting an activity based on individual employment contract concluded for a period of 12 months with Romanian companies that are performing during the year seasonal activities and are subject to the special tax for such activities: hotels and other similar accommodation facilities, accommodation facilities for holiday and short periods of time, camping grounds, campgrounds and encampments, other accommodation, restaurants, food related activities (catering) for events, other food services, bars and other serving drinks activities;
  • Also, for the CAEN code corresponding to restaurant, bar, accommodation activities, will be paid a specific tax (flat tax) instead of the income tax;
  • medical services provided as subscription, borne by the employees, will be deducted from the taxable wage to a maximum of 400 euros per year;
  • It was established a single rate of 3% for the tax on income from the transfer of properties from personal heritage, and also a non-taxable value of 450.000 lei.

The social contributions CAS and CASS:

  • Regarding the social insurance contribution (CAS), the limit representing the amount equivalent to 5 average gross salaries for the monthly tax base of the income from wages will be removed;
  • Regarding the social health insurance (CASS) the limit representing the amount equivalent to 5 monthly earnings on the basis of calculation of the maximum taxable amount for entire incomes (5 times the average gross salary) will be removed. Details here.
  • It was reintroduced the exemption for the persons earning income from investments and other sources (for ex.: dividends) in case they have also salary income or assimilated to salaries, retirement income, income from independent activities, income from agriculture, forestry and fisheries, allowances unemployment. The health contribution for dividends applies only in January 2017 so it would be better not to cash dividends in January.

The VAT rate

  • The VAT rate is 19% starting with 01.01.2017, compared to 20% as it was in 2016.
  • The reduced rates: 9% and respectively 5%, remain unchanged.

Details here.

The Register of Intracomunity Operators (ROI):

  • The obligation to register in the ROI was removed, starting with January 1st. Nonetheless, legal persons who have VAT code must specifically register for VAT purposes in order to carry out operations within the European Community.

POS Obligation:

  • The legal persons engaged in retail that are producing an annual turnover of more than 10.000 euro have to accept as payment both debit cards and credit cards.

The law on the elimination of 102 taxes and tariffs was published in the Official Gazette

Starting with February 1, 2017 will be removed a number of fees and charges, including:

  • environmental timbre for motor vehicles;
  • certain fees and charges stipulated by the Law no. 26/1990 regarding the Trade Register, the issuing of the ascertaining certificate remaining with a fee
  • certain fees and charges stipulated by the Law. 21/1991 on Romanian citizenship law;
  • radio and TV fees;
  • the fees charged by the Official Gazette for individuals who are determined by law to announce losses of acts and name changes;
  • extrajudicial stamp fees.

Details here.

Changes regarding P.F. And I.I.

  • The maximum number of employees that an individual can have is 3, and an individual enterprise can have 8;
  • It is possible to have as object of activity no more than 5 classes of activities provided by CAEN code for a P.F. and 10 classes for an I.I.. For 2 years starting from 01.01.2017 changes can be made, free of charge, based on an application.

The minimum wage

  • from the 1st of February 2017 the gross mininum wage will be 1450 lei. Details here.

Free days

  • The 24th of January and the 1st of June will be legal holidays.

Other changes:

  • Statement 088: Declaration for assessing the intention and ability to carry out economic activities involving VAT operations is eliminated beginning with the 1st of February;
  • the tax on constructions is removed beginning with 1.1.2017 (the tax vector should be removed from the statement 010, until 15.01.2017);
  • D392A and D392B submission is suspended until 31.12.2019;
  • VAT invoiced by the fiscal inactive companies will be deducted along with their reactivation (until now this was not possible);
  • multiple garnishments of the accounts will be removed.