Romania Should Tax People Who Buy Used Cars And Sell Them For Profit – PM

Boc was asked at the conference Mediafax Talks about Auto Industry whether he is considering limiting sales of second hand cars bought from abroad by people who later sell them for profit.

"I will ask for an assessment by the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Finance to prevent such loopholes. I think it is not fair that these people shouldn’t pay taxes if they buy those cars to sell them for profit and not for personal use. Anyone has the right to buy a car from abroad, but when that turns into a commercial activity, taxes should be paid,” Boc said.

The prime minister told state secretary Dan Carlan, present at the conference, to inform environment minister Nicolae Nemirschi of this issue.

"I will talk to the finance minister today and get his point of view on the matter,” Boc said, adding a similar situation occurs in the construction sector.

"We’ve had a similar talk regarding the construction sector. It is one thing to build a house and another to build five hundred apartments and sell them one by one without paying any taxes,” Boc said.

New car registrations in Romania decreased 66% on the year in February, to 7,183 units, while second hand car registrations increased 15%, to 17,950 units. In February 2008, Romania registered 21,425 new cars and 15,569 used cars.

Total car registrations in Romania decreased 43.1% on the year in January and February, to 44.889 cars from 78,932 cars in 2008.

Throughout the whole year 2008, new car registrations decreased 8.6% to about 285,500 units, while the used car segment saw a record 150% increase, to 300,000 units.