Workers abroad sustain the budget

Last year, VAT from the spending of the money, which was sent back by Romanians working abroad amounted to 700 million euros. Net transfers in Romania”s balance of payments brought a total amount of almost 3.7 billion euros to the country. Most of this sum, which hit a record level in 2005, accounts for wages sent by Romanians who work abroad. In fact, the amounts sent back home exceeded the one billion-euro threshold for the first time in 2001, five years ago, and since then, growth has seen no limits. The amounts transferred to the country rose the following year by almost 60% due to elimination of the mandatory visa for the Schengen zone. As restrictions for border crossing eased off, more and more Romanians chose to go work abroad. The reasons for leaving still remain the same, as employment is quite scarce on the domestic market, and wages are much higher abroad, which means that people are able to save and send money back home. ZF