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RADOR: News from Romania, 98-02-17
February 17, 1998
CONTENTS
[01] Mircea Ciumara, the Industry Minister, on reorganizing the autonomous
state owned companies
[02] "The solidarity tax could cover an important share of the
restructuring costs" - Finance Minister said
[03] Meal tickets law harms the budget
[01] Mircea Ciumara, the Industry Minister, on reorganizing the autonomous
state owned companies
The Executive announced late last year that it was decided to start
restructuring and it proposed a law allowing it to start reorganizing the
autonomous state owned companies with no intervention from the Legislative.
The Parliament opposed to this and wanted to impose its perspective on
restructuring the national interest companies; The law stating that the
Executive could do restructuring by government decision only in now in
works at the Chamber of Deputies. The Industry Minister Mircea Ciumara told
RADIO ROMANIA ACTUALITATI reporter about how much this attitude of the
Parliament could delay the planR of the Government: "as for the Industry
Ministry, there are no delays and the fact that the law is not to pass
right now might be a good thing because the 1998 budget will be finalized
and therefore I what to rely on when restructuring as costs are high
especially for the coal industry." About the effects of the restructuring
on the people, Mr. Ciumara said that those ones would benefit from the
reduction of electric power costs and cheaper and better done services.
Restructuring would also effect on the budget as "there are huge sums that
do not enter the budget along with those that have to be paid from the
budget because some companies do not pay their debts in energy; all these
sums can be redirected towards certain social needs - health, education or
culture". RADOR
[02] "The solidarity tax could cover an important share of the
restructuring costs" - Finance Minister said
The Finance Minister Daniel Daianu said to RADIO ROMANIA ACTUALITATI that
they would have to take intoRaccount a solidarity tax to cover an important
share of the restructuring costs when settling this year's budget. The
Finance Minister said that this tax had "an important ethical dimension
that is essential for the good development of the programme and of the
transforming here." Mr. Daianu believes that this tax has to be well
dimensioned for the money we might get from it not to be misused. The
construction of the budget is now depending on the income got from
privatization and on this tax." Daniel Daianu also said to the reporter
that he might very well propose introduction of this tax when presenting
the draft budget to the Cabinet. RADOR
[03] Meal tickets law harms the budget
The Finance Ministry said it was woried about the costs for giving the meal
tickets. The State Secretary in the Ministry of Finance Valentin Lazea said
to the Romanian service of the BBC WORLD SERVICE that the Parliament should
review the meal tickets law because - as the IMF said - it would hurt the
budRet by 1.1% of the GDP. "This is a huge and useless gap in the GDP done
by our law makers. The solution would be a radical one: annulling the law."
- Mr. Lazea said. It's hard to believe that the oposition would agree with
this proposal but the unions would surely be discontnted - BBC WORLD
SERVICE. Talks with the IMF representatives have driven out differences
between intentions of the Government and of the Parliament on the one hand
and the real financial capabilities they have. Democratic Party (DP) Deputy
Paula Ivanescu - member of the labour Commission and social protection told
BBC that only some of the companies would be able to comply with the law
according to the profit the have. RADOR
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