In view of the discussions regarding the construction of the state budget for 2026, the Romanian business community reiterates its firm call to decision-makers to eliminate the minimum turnover tax (IMCA).
Given the difficult macro-budgetary context and a tense geopolitical climate, IMCA represents the biggest barrier to investment, contradicting the stated objective of attracting investments for Romania’s economic development. At a time when the private sector is experiencing visible difficulties— with restructuring and layoffs— maintaining IMCA adds additional pressure on business continuity.
Within a fiscal policy perspective, taxing turnover, regardless of whether profit exists or not, contradicts basic economic principles and is not applied in any developed or developing EU country. Moreover, the measure does not take into account regional realities of many industries or economic cyclicality, reducing the appetite for major investments, especially for greenfield projects. Romania needs added value, jobs, and know-how transfer generated through investments.
Romania’s attractiveness to investors is declining, while other countries in the region such as Poland, the Czech Republic, and Bulgaria are increasingly chosen as investment destinations over Romania. No new investor will come to Romania to pay a tax on losses. At a time when Romania should be integrating into European value chains and contributing to the common effort to boost economic competitiveness and defense capabilities, maintaining IMCA ultimately means losing this opportunity.
IMCA disproportionately affects companies with low profit margins, discourages investment, and undermines the competitiveness of the Romanian economy compared with all regional countries. Being applied cumulatively across the entire production and distribution chain, this type of tax generates significant market distortions, thereby fuelling inflation.
Moreover, in the context of economic slowdown, maintaining IMCA risks reducing the tax base and affecting budget revenue collection in the medium term, given its effects on investment, productivity, and business development in Romania. The business community is concerned that these revenue shortfalls will later be compensated by increasing the fiscal burden once again on the private sector and consumers.
A rapid joint survey conducted within our business communities shows that the turnover tax has had a significant impact on operations in Romania:
- Out of 80 companies that responded, 55 reported being directly affected, with impact across multiple economic sectors.
- 64% of companies postponed, reduced, or reconsidered investment plans once IMCA was introduced.
- Romania has lost approximately €305 million in potential investments since the tax was introduced, based solely on the responses from the 55 affected companies.
- Approximately 60% reported a major impact on operations through effects on pricing, supply chains, HR policies, and restructuring measures.
Furthermore, extending the application of this measure—introduced as a temporary one—without initiating structural reforms, combating large-scale tax evasion, undertaking restructuring, and reducing public expenditure, is profoundly unfair to the business environment, which ultimately pays the price for the excessive budget deficit generated by political-administrative decisions driven primarily by electoral considerations.
Therefore, we once again call on decision-makers to eliminate this discriminatory tax and build the 2026 State Budget on a coherent, predictable, and well-founded fiscal framework, avoiding ad-hoc or insufficiently tested solutions that may generate instability. A solid fiscal architecture, aligned with economic principles and European practices, benefits the entire economy and contributes to a climate of confidence for all investors.
