Finance Ministry goes back on decision to tax interests calculated before July 1

The Finance Ministry has decided to no longer tax the entire interest rate for existing deposits, after holding a meeting yesterday morning with the management of the Romanian Banking Association (ARB).
“The calculation basis for the 16% tax consists of the incomes accrued from July 1 until the deposit’s maturity date, and registered in the account holder’s current account or deposit account,” reads a letter signed by Finance Minister Sebastian Vladescu and addressed to Radu Ghetea, chairman of ARB. This is a radical change from the Finance Ministry’s stand on Tuesday, when it informed bankers in a letter that “realised interest rate” (the calculation basis for the tax) is understood to mean the interest registered in the current account or in the client’s deposit.
The Finance Ministry initially asked banks to calculate and levy the 16% tax on interest rates collected in the account after July 1, although they corresponded to the period prior to the introduction of the tax.
Bankers said, however, that the interest is calculated on a daily basis and is a client income, and that only the transfer into the account generally occurs on maturity. Therefore, only the interest rate calculated between July 1 and maturity should be taxed. The tax on interest rate incomes was introduced via Government Ordinance no. 58, published in the Official Gazette on June 28, which came into force on July 1.