The European Commission will analyze the opportunity to address the Romanian government on the legality of a first registration car tax on Wednesday, Maria Asimakopoulou, spokeswoman for European tax commissioner Laszlo Kovacs, has told HotNews.ro. That would be the first legal measure the Commission can take when finding that a law in a member state leads to discrimination.
The first registration tax is a tax newly introduced by Romania that differentiates domestic and foreign, second and first-hand cars on purchase. The Romanian government claims it is aimed at reducing the number of old cars in Romania.
PM Calin Popescu Tariceanu has said he would not abandon the tax.
If the EC decides on Wednesday to send such a letter to the Romanian Government, Tariceanu’s team will have two months to deliver an official answer, on which the Commission will consider whether to continue legal moves against Romania.
A second step would be to deliver a reason opinion favoring an infringement procedure against Romania at the European Court of Justice.
Romanian Finance minister Sebastian Vladescu read the EC move announced by Reuters earlier yesterday as a “normal procedure” by which Romania is to receive a given period to harmonize its new tax to the principles of European law.
HotNews.ro, Mar 20, 2007
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