The Government's intention to raise the social security contribution (CAS) by 3.3% to 43.35%, although it was supposed to go down, could make IT companies cut salaries of their employees, believes Liviu Dragan, chairman of the Association of Software Industry Business Owners in Romania (ANIS).

"Salaries in the IT industry are known to have witnessed the highest increase over the last few years, and in Romania the difference between the average IT salary and average salary of the entire economy is one of the biggest. Any tax raise jeopardises lots of ongoing projects, as well as the capability of some companies to pay the salaries of their employees," Dragan explains.

There are about approximately 60,000 people working in the local software industry and the average net salary for one programmer revolved around 1,000 - 1,100 euros last year according to the ANIS data. The average net wage of the entire economy went up by almost 23% to 350 euros last year, according to the data of the National Statistics Institute.

Software industry salaries went through the roof as human resources became harder and harder to find on the market, as a result of the several-fold increase of the number of employees from approximately 13,000 in 2000.

The salary budget accounts for approximately 60-70% of the budget of a software developer. Dragan says that in order to remain competitive on the international market, companies in the Romanian IT industry are faced with the prospect of having to cut salaries.

"We don't know how many of the Romanian IT specialists will agree with this. We also know that massive redundancies are being operated in Romania as a result of the crisis, but we have not had any such case in the IT industry. Hopefully, we won't get there," Dragan said.

The most powerful impact of the situation on the market could be felt by thos