METAMORPHOSES OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL STAMP IN ROMANIA

• Main Author: CARAUS MADALINA
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Academica Brâncuşi 2015-12-01
• Series: Analele Universităţii Constantin Brâncuşi din Târgu Jiu : Seria Economie
• Subjects: environmental stamp; registration tax; tax on means of transport; taxpayer
• Online Access: http://www.utgjiu.ro/revista/ec/pdf/2015-Special%20ECOTREND/56_Caraus.pdf

Romania's alignment to European standards is a difficult process with many legislative changes, with direct impact on taxpayers. The necessity of collecting substantial revenues to the State budget, which provide vital economic growth of the Romanian State, loses the substance when we are talking about taxes levied in relation to taxpayer. The environmental stamp, otherwise a controversial tax, represent for the State another way to earn revenue in advance, “as a loan", because in the end it's forced to repay the amounts concerned taxpayers, under the effect of a final and irrevocable court decision. The effects of the legislative changes bring every time complaints both from taxpayers, because they can demand repayment of the environmental stamp only during the period of prescription, as well as on the part of public servants who are grappling with a large volume of work, with the possibility of overcoming the term to handle requests. An equitable solution in solving these distortions would be the inclusion of the environmental stamp within the tax on means of transport, tax that is paid annually by vehicle owners. At the moment the level of the environmental stamp is calculated depending on the CO2 emissions, exhaust emissions and the age of the vehicle. Tax on means of transport is calculated based on engine capacity, an amount determined by CO2 emissions multiplying with each group of 200 cc or fraction on it. Therefore the unification of the two taxes would create a balance for all categories of vehicles.