Many Romanians do not really understand what a progressive tax and a flat rate mean, at least according to the results of a study carried out by the Bureau of Social Research commissioned by the Taxation Pact.

First, citizens were asked whether they support one or another of the proposals: 35% of citizens support a single rate, another 30% support a progressive tax, and 35% are undecided.

In which areas is the single rate supported, and in which is the progressive tax

The single tax rate is supported by people from very large cities, from Bucharest-Ilfov, North-Western and Western regions, employees, people with higher education and who declare their right-wing economic and political orientation (more than 45%).

A progressive tax is supported by people living in medium-sized cities, in the North-East and South-Munten regions, evenly distributed by level of education (over 35%).

They are indifferent to this topic, especially residents of South-Western Oltenia and the Center and people with primary education (more than 45%).

The data shows that many do not understand the topic

According to the cited source, when people are given a restatement of the topic and no pejorative labels, they are more likely to stick with one of the options.

When asked if they wanted citizens to be taxed at the same percentage of earnings, 46% agreed, while 44% wanted high earners to be taxed at a higher percentage. 10% withheld.

When the question contains incriminating opinions of one of the parties, the number of abstentions increases and the support of the accused decreases.

About 30% believe that a progressive tax does not take the money of smart and hardworking people

Romanians were asked whether they agree that a progressive tax takes money away from smart and hardworking people and encourages laziness and stupidity. 35.5% agreed, against – 29.5%, abstained – 35%.

The interviews were conducted by telephone by a group of 33 operators of the Bureau of Social Research between June 9 and 14, 2022. The sample included 1,104 people living in 242 urban and rural settlements in all districts of the country. People living abroad and those in closed institutions (prisons, monasteries, barracks, hospitals) were excluded.

Progressive taxation may be mentioned next year in the political sphere

“Progressive taxation is still looming over us and we may see some exits from that perspective next year. I believe that we must first collect what we historically do not collect, and I mean the VAT deficit, before talking about new taxes”, said Daniel Angel, head of tax and legal services at PwC Romania, at a conference organized by cursdeguvernare .ro.

We recall that a recent IMF statement indicated that the introduction of progressivity for those with the highest incomes could generate higher revenues for the budget and mitigate high income inequality in Romania.

In addition, at the June conference, IMF representatives stated that the implementation of progressivity is accompanied by collection problems: “It is not easy to do immediately, because the tax authority (NAF no) needs to know all sources of income. This will make it difficult to implement progressivity from 2023. It would be more realistic if a decision on implementation is made later.”