Romanian VAT To Remain Unchanged – Tourism Min

„An increase of the VAT is out of the question. The budget already set by the Government does not take into account any such change as a viable solution,” said Udrea during a seminar on tourism development.

Udrea added in the tourism sector there are talks to reduce the VAT to 9% for packages that include accommodation and meal.

The draft budget for 2010 does not include an increase of the value added tax, but such a measure might be applied if the economy fails to revive, Romanian Finance Minister and interim Labor Minister Gheorghe Pogea said Thursday after a meeting with union and employer representatives.

President Traian Basescu said Monday, during talks with foreign investors, that the VAT might be hiked in 2010. Basescu added, according to sources cited by „Ziarul Financiar”, that a VAT hike of several percentage points would be preferable to the flat tax increase.

Prime Minister Emil Boc recently said, after talks at the Labor Ministry, that the Government did not consider increases in the VAT or other taxes, when drawing up the draft budget for 2010.