President Klaus Iohannis signed into law on Thursday a bill initiated by Marcel Ciolacu and Nicolae Ciucă, which allows tax evaders responsible for damages up to 1,000,000 euros to avoid imprisonment by paying the amount plus a penalty.
The Chamber of Deputies adopted, on December 19, as a decision-making body, the project initiated by PSD and PNL leaders, Marcel Ciolacu and Nicolae Ciucă, regarding some measures to strengthen the capacity to combat tax evasion. The normative act amends Law no. 241/2005 for preventing and combating tax evasion.
According to the new provisions in the case of tax evasion offences, “if until the expiry of a maximum period of 30 days from the completion of the control carried out by the competent bodies, following which a damage due to the general consolidated budget of up to 1,000,000 euros is identified, the damage increased by 15% of its value, to which interest and penalties are added, is fully covered, by actual payment, the act is not punished”, the deputies determined.
In this situation, the competent bodies will not notify the criminal investigation bodies.
At the same time, also in these criminal cases, “if by the first term of court the damage caused is fully covered, by actual payment, the limits of the punishment provided by law for the committed deed are reduced by half”.
“If the damage caused and recovered under these conditions is up to 1,000,000 euros inclusive, in the equivalent of the national currency, the punishment with a fine can be applied”, the adopted normative act also provides.
Although the law is controversial, one of its initiators, former Liberal PM, now PNL chairman and Senate speaker, Nicolae Ciuca, said that “there were enough cases in which the execution of the sentence did not remedy the incriminated act”, and “the recovery of the damage of up to one million euros + a 15% increase + interest/penalties has a much greater potential to remedy the situation”.
He also said that this law strengthens “the state’s ability to combat tax evasion”. “From other provisions, I just remind you that failure to withhold taxes and/or contributions is punishable by up to 5 years in prison, and for evading the fulfillment of fiscal obligations, you receive a penalty of up to 10 years in prison,” concluded the PNL leader.
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