by ALEXANDRA SPANU (editorial, Nine O’ Clock)
Less than a week after President Basescu presented Boc Cabinet’s austerity measures, meant to reduce the budget deficit, the Spanish prime-minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero announced the reduction of public wages, starting June, and their freeze in 2010.
So far, it sounds like a familiar scenario. Two countries in the European Union cutting down on expenses. In Romania, following negotiations with the International Monetary Fund, authorities have to remain within a budget deficit of 6.8 per cent. Emil Boc chose “the lesser evil”, that is, reducing state wages by 25 per cent, pensions by 15 per cent and cutting a large portion of subventions. “The lesser evil”, as the alternative would have been to raise VAT and the flat tax, the prime-minister explained. The Government also has in store a 16 per cent tax on royalties, stock market activities, the interest from bank deposits, authorised natural persons and an added tax for persons who own several properties. And the list may go on. Indeed, it will.
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