Enache criticises Fiscal Code changes

The proposed changes to the Fiscal Code are “diabolical” because they discourage new investment and punish those who have already made investments, says Radu Enache, the chairman of the Continental hotel chain, which comprises 12 hotels. The hotel industry will be affected by the new changes to fiscal legislation, mainly because of the new tax on corporeal assets. Enache”s calculations show that the two new hotels opened by his group this year worth 18.5 million euros will be taxed around 100,000 euros every year, starting 2006. The new rules on fiscal amortisation, the taxation of legal reserves and the tripling of local taxes on buildings and land are a new obstacle to investment, Continental”s main shareholder believes. “The failure of the flat tax quota has left the budget with holes which the Finance Ministry is now trying to fill by unnatural increases in the tax base,” he said. His estimates show the hotel group will be pay an additional 1.1 million RON in taxes starting in 2006. “If the proposed changes to the Fiscal Code are enacted then I”m sure we won”t be making any further investment,” Enache added. ZF