Romanian Govt Might Cut Heating Subsidy For People With RON3,000 In Bank

People close to the matter told MEDIAFAX that heating aid might also be cut for owners of plots of land larger than 1,000 square meters or farm animals like cattle or pigs. They said the full list of goods making their owner ineligible for heating aid is still being discussed.

On Monday, Labor Minister Ioan Botis announced that Romanians who own more than one home or cars with an engine capacity exceeding 1,600 cubic meters will not receive heating subsidies, as per a government decision. Evaluations show that over 10% of the 3.2 million families that are granted heating subsidies will lose this benefit.

A draft act drawn up by the Labor Ministry and presented last week by MEDIAFAX, said heating subsidies will be granted according to the income categories provided by Law 416/2001 regarding minimum income for social benefits. This would cut the number of heating subsidy beneficiaries by over 400,000 and contributing RON10.6 million to the state budget in 2010.