Last year, the government introduced (through Law 296/2023) a luxury tax, particularly on expensive houses and cars. Subsequently, ANAF prepared a project for the introduction of a new form (216). People who have such assets must declare them on this return and then pay by April 30.

This deadline for houses and cars is December 31.

It is necessary to indicate that the tax is levied on the relevant asset.

Thus, one problem with the law is that it is unclear whether people who own a share of property above the maximum amount must declare or not. The experts I spoke with say that the Act is subject to interpretation. If we look at the draft form 216 order, only one person can declare and there is no reference to him owning a share.

There may be situations where, for the same building, both persons can fill out this declaration and pay the tax twice.

It is not clear how much resources and time ANAF will spend to check who did not submit and pay that declaration. Experts with whom HotNews.ro spoke say that there would be few people who would be entitled to the payment, and for such small amounts (as they are paid for things that exceed the ceilings mentioned below), it is too much of a consumption of resources.

Problems with the special tax for cars worth more than 375,000 lei

Tax consultants who analyzed these provisions of the law noticed the following problems:

1. The concept of “purchase price” is not defined, that is, does it include or not include VAT related to the purchase, or is this purchase price the book value of the car? The definition of the concept of “car” will also be indicated.

2. Is special tax payable only on cars purchased after 2024? If the car is purchased before 2024, how is the 5-year share determined?

3. Do car dealers also pay this tax, even if these cars are recorded in accounting as warehouse cars?

4. In the case of leasing, at least financial, it is not clear which owner has and pays this special tax: legal or economic?

5. Given that this tax must be paid by December 31 of the current year, the following situation may arise: Company “X” buys and registers in Romania for the first time in January 2024 and sells to Company “Y” in March 2024. It is clear from the current regulations that company “X” is a taxpayer that must pay this tax by December 31, 2024, and company “Y” will pay in 2025. But if later, company “Y” sells in June 2024 to company “Z”. It is not clear who is the taxpayer who must declare the tax in 2024. In 2025 Company “Z” or Company “Y”.

How much is the luxury tax and what does it cover?

The luxury tax applies to:

• natural persons who, on December 31 of the previous financial year, own/co-own residential buildings located in Romania, if the taxable value of the building exceeds 2.5 million lei.

• individuals and legal entities owning cars registered/registered in Romania, the individual purchase value of which exceeds 375,000 lei. The tax is payable for 5 years starting from the financial year in which the transfer-acceptance of the car takes place, or for the part of the years remaining until the end of the 5-year period from that date, for those in which the transfer-acceptance of the car previously took place.

In the case of real estate representing residential buildings, the rate of 0.3% will be applied to the difference between the taxable value of the building notified by the local fiscal authority through the tax ruling and the maximum amount of 2.5 million lei.

In the case of cars, a rate of 0.3% will apply to the difference between the purchase price and the maximum amount of 375,000 lei.