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18. 04. 12. - 15:15

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18. 04. 12. - 15:15

PM sacks fiscal body head over poor income tax collection

Michael Leidig

Prime Minister (PM) Mihai Razvan Ungureanu sacked last night (Tues) the head of the fiscal control body (ANAF), Sorin Blejnar (photo), the government informed in a press release.

Earlier on Tuesday, Blejnar informed the media that he resigned as head of ANAF in order to take over the lead of the big fortunes control division, within the same institution.

The new 50-investigators strong division was set up at the request of the PM, in a move to fight rampant tax evasion and shadow economy, estimated at some 30 percent of the GDP.

Soon after he took office, in early February, PM Ungureanu gave ANAF two months to collect 2 billion (bn) Euros in income taxes, representing 1.5 percent of the GDP. On Tuesday when the deadline expired, Ungureanu sacked the head of the fiscal body. It is not clear yet why the PM decided to keep Blejnar at ANAF and put him in charge with the control of the big fortunes, with a bigger salary,  if he was discontent with his results. The press and analysts are speculating that Blejnar’s removal was just a PR stunt aimed at giving the public ahead general elections the impression that the government is actually fighting fiscal evasion, while the public still has to pay 25 percent VAT (the highest in the EU) and increased local taxes.

Reacting to his sacking, Sorin Blejnar said the deadline given by the PM for the collection of the 2 bn Euros was ‘not realistic’.

According to sources close to the government, the Premier sacked Blejnar on Tuesday by phone. He was replaced with Serban Pop, former deputy president of the fiscal control body in 2009, who has been sacked by Ungureanu’s predecessor, ex PM Emil Boc.

Today, the PM gathered the cabinet task-force for fighting fiscal evasion at Victoria Palace. At the meeting he criticised the management of ANAF saying it didn’t make sufficient efforts to fight tax evasion and to increase the tax income collection to 40 percent of the GDP, as against the current level of some 32-33 percent of the GDP.

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