The National Statistics Institute (INS) has revealed that the Romania’s GDP increased by 2.5 percent in 2011. The Eurozone gained 1.5 percent, compared to 1.6 growth in the EU 27 countries, according to the statistical bureau Eurostat. Melania Hancila, head of the research and strategy department at Volksbank, says that a slow recovery has been registered in construction and retail, following steep market contractions of the previous years. INS data also show the economy fell by 0.2 percent from QIII to QIV of 2011, although the growth in the last quarter of the year was 2.1 percent higher than in the last quarter of 2010. By contrast, in Q4, EU 27 output lost 0.3 percent.
But with tax collection still difficult for Romanian authorities, it remains to be seen whether higher GDP result in the increased tax revenues for the state’s cofers. With that in mind, Premier Mihai Razvan Ungureanu has asked his administration to achieve a 1.5 percent of GDP increase in tax collection within 60 days. It’s part of a campaign to combat the extensive gray economy in Romania, especially tax evading activities like smuggling alcohol and vegetables. Razvan has called the fight against tax evasion a matter of national security.
