The Executive Wants Royalties & Intellectual Rights Illegal

The Emil Boc Government plans to make illegal paying employees via intellectual rights & royalties law. The move is supposed to higher the tax revenues, for which the current government is in dire need.

Some 36,000 people are likely to get hit by this new draft law, according to the tax authorities.

Still, the move makes no economic sense since income earned via the intellectual rights law are taxed anyway, at the same level of taxation as income earned in full-time long-term contracts, or 16%.

The move also makes also no democratic sense, as the great majority of journalists are paid via this law.

Along journalists, all so-called liberal professions will be hit, as artists of all kinds and lawyers.

The Executive said it had exploratory talks with the trade unions. But Cartel Alfa, present at the talks, is not representing the media trade unions.

The Cartel Alfa vice president Petru Dandea said it was all a misunderstanding, as during the meeting his trade union had with the Government, the latter proposed to exempt from taxation the intellectual rights income altogether.

However, in a statement made in Cluj, on Saturday, Boc said the decision was still pending, without clarifying which was the actual proposal being made.

The director for the Romanian Office for the Intellectual Rights Rodica Parvu said the current legislation was drafted since 1996 to match the European Union body of law in the field.