News about State budget and taxes

Roman Kozhukhar, Director General of the Public Property Agency (APP), announced his resignation. Earlier today, Radu Marian also announced that he was stepping down as chair of the Committee on Economy, Budget, and Finance. Both resignations are directly linked to the scandal surrounding salaries amounting to thousands and questionable appointments at the state-owned enterprise “MoldATSA.”

The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Defense have drafted a bill that will regulate the awarding of contracts for the performance of work, the supply of goods, and the provision of services in the fields of defense and national security.

A flat VAT rate of 20% on natural gas, electricity, and heating will lead to the impoverishment of citizens and the weakening of the national economy. 

The world’s richest man even celebrated his 55th birthday in his own unique way—Elon Musk stated on X the day before that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) had helped fund the “revolution,” “which sparked the war between Russia and Ukraine.”

On Sunday, June 28, a protest against the proposed new budget and tax policy will take place in front of the parliament building. The organizers are demanding that the VAT increase on essential goods and services be suspended. Participants are urged to attend the demonstration without any party symbols.

Although arrears owed to local budgets have exceeded 220 million lei over the past five years, the draft tax policy for 2027 does not include effective tools for city halls to enforce the collection of tax debts.

Salaries for social assistance workers in Moldova will be increased by an average of approximately 22%. The raise will apply to social workers, social service employees, child protection specialists, care assistants, managers of social institutions, and other professionals in the sector.

At the meeting of the secretaries-general on June 22, a draft resolution of the Moldovan government was reviewed and approved, exempting the state-owned enterprise Moldelectrica from paying to the budget income tax on revenue received in 2025 in the amount of 26,997,786,25 lei.

At this stage, the Ministry of Finance has decided against changing the mechanism for taxing wages. The decision was made following consultations with representatives of the Association of Accountants. Neither experts nor local authorities understood the reform.

As of the end of May, Moldova’s total public debt had risen to 143.1 billion lei, compared with 122.1 billion lei a year earlier. Over the course of the year, the country’s debt burden increased by 21 billion lei. Nevertheless, according to estimates by the Ministry of Finance and the IMF, the current ratio of total public debt to GDP remains within a safe range (around 37–38% of GDP).

U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen has demanded that the Donald Trump administration provide Congress with detailed information on the costs of winding down approximately 5,600 programs and contracts of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). She estimates that closing these projects could require up to $19 billion in previously approved budget funds.

The state budget deficit at the end of May stood at approximately 7.7 billion lei. This represents an increase of 777.1 million lei (or 11.4%) compared to the same period last year. The Ministry of Finance reported this while summarizing the results for the first five months.

The Ministry of Finance is scrapping certain provisions of the tax reform following public consultations and numerous comments. Ministry of Finance officials confirmed to Logos Press that the change to the payroll tax system will not be implemented in 2027, though it is not yet known when it might be introduced.

The city government has provided clarification on the procedure for paying property tax for this year. The deadline for payment is June 30, 2026.

The city administrations of the two capitals have assessed the financial impact on local budgets of the Ministry of Finance’s proposals included in the draft budget and tax policy for 2027. They warn that local authorities will be unable to perform their functions and fulfill their responsibilities to citizens to the same extent with drastically reduced budgets.

Periods during which maternity (pregnancy and childbirth) and paternity benefits are received will be officially counted toward the length of service used to calculate pensions. This provision is contained in a bill that was passed by Parliament on its first reading.

The Congress of Local Authorities of Moldova (CALM) has expressed its strong opposition to the draft budget and tax policy for 2027.

King Charles III became the first reigning British monarch to officially disclose the amount of his personal tax payments. According to Buckingham Palace, he voluntarily contributed 12.9 million pounds to the national budget for the 2024–2025 fiscal year.

The Audit Chamber can achieve full financial independence only by establishing competitive and fair salaries for state external auditors. The draft law on the compensation system creates an increased risk of a brain drain of qualified personnel. This opinion was expressed by Tatiana Șevciuc, Chair of the Accounting Chamber (AC).

The implementation of the Public Finance Management Development Strategy for 2023–2030 and Moldova’s progress in the context of the EU accession process were discussed at the Ministry of Finance on June 25 during the third meeting of the Public Finance Management Dialogue.