Romanian Finance Min Agrees To Cancel Copyrights In Certain Sectors – Union Leader

Hossu said that the measure is supported by two state secretaries with the Finance Ministry, Gratiela Iordache and Gheorghe Gherghina. Currently, some 200,000 people are employed under author’s rights contracts. “The eight months left of this year could bring in another 800 million lei (EUR1=RON4.1549) in taxes,” Hossu said.

Unions and employers’ associations proposed, in January, eliminating copyrights in several business sectors, describing this issue as a potential “form of evasion.” In Hossu’s opinion, certain employees, such as accountants, notaries and architects, who are paid based on copyrights contracts, are exempt from paying certain taxes. The union leader said that young people currently employed under such contracts, including some 45,000 media employees, will have a pension below the poverty line. He stated that the current law does not have to be repealed, but correctly applied, because certain employers transfer the entire risk to the employee.

Hossu considered that the Romanian Government must act according to the recommendations of the European Commission, which pushes member states to remove clandestine labor, showing it to be a serious threat to the stability of social security systems.

In January, Prime Minister Emil Boc promised the unions that he will try to regulate the issue.