7% decline in budget revenues in January

Overall budget revenues started the year with a decline, by 6.8% in January against January 2009, mainly amid a decline in consumption, with the steepest fall being recorded by VAT collection.
January brought about a rise in the corporate income tax by 16.3% against January 2009, after amounts collected from profit taxes had been dwindling over the course of last year.
In January banks and companies paid taxes corresponding to profits made in the last quarter of last year.
“The data seemingly point to a rebound of profitability. Better profits were recorded in the last quarter of 2009 against the similar period of 2008 when the crisis broke out. A rise in amounts of corporate income tax collected would be proof of a rebound,” explained Gheorghe Gherghina, secretary of state within the Ministry of Finance, in charge of the budget.
Excises also contributed more money to the budget in January, with payments climbing by 13.2%, to 1.3 billion RON.
However, consumption is not showing signs of a rebound, with VAT collection, the main resource of the state budget, falling by 25.8% in January 2010 against January 2009.