Tax authorities freeze almost 250,000 accounts

The freezing of bank accounts by the tax authorities in order to recoup taxes from taxpayers gained impetus in the first quarter of the year: over 240,200 accounts were seized in the first quarter, 33% more than in the similar period of last year, according to data provided by the National Agency for Tax Administration (ANAF).

In 2009 the accounts of nearly 894,000 taxpayers were seized because they had unpaid debts to the state budget.

The tax authorities are also attempting to force taxpayers with low debts to the state to pay their dues by freezing bank accounts and by seizing goods, in the context where budget revenues are dwindling, while costs are not cut at the same pace.

The average value of a debt leading to an account freeze has, however, fallen, amid an effort to recover small amounts, as well. In Brasov county, for instance, the tax authority froze almost 6,700 accounts in the first three months of 2010, 18% more than in the similar period of last year.