The Romanian Government writes up figures to fool the IMF. Elsewhere in the news, the state plays poker with public funds: mayor Liviu Negoita backs a disastrous contract with the 'kings of the asphalt'. Last but not least, Romania ranks third in Europe in chart addressing abortions.
The Romanian Government writes up figures to fool the IMF, Gandul reads. The Finance Ministry state secretary Gheorghe Gherghina says the Government might discuss the state budget project for 2010 next week. The Parliament allows the dismissed Government to submit the project for next year's state budget. Therefore, the proposal could reach the Parliament after the first presidential elections round.
The temporary Cabinet Boc 2 included in the 2010 state budget project all targets imposed by the IMF, Gherghina says, "because this is the aim". Meanwhile, both the Finance minister Gheorghe Pogea and the Economy minister Adriean Videanu declared that the VAT and the unique income tax will not be raised in the year to follow. So where will the Government get the money to respect the IMF targets from?
According to the publication, sources close to discussions between the IMF and the Government say that the document considers "swollen" indexes for the chapter addressing the state budget incomes. This is a "trick" almost every Romanian Government used. The same sources claim that if this budget is voted, people will protest on the streets in spring time. "This is the way it has been done every year, this is what it will happen now because one can't otherwise reach to a 5.9% budget deficit in the next year, on paper", the sources explained.
Theoretically, the budget's incomes could be increased by raising the level of tax collection and through bringing to light the unobserved economy, which is estimated to one third of Romania's GDP. In 2009, the G