The Finance Ministry Rejects the Idea of Tax Exemptions for Agricultural Producers

The Finance Ministry does not approve of the idea of granting tax exemptions to agricultural producers affected by this year’s severe drought. Minister Dumitru Budianschi says that granting tax exemptions to farmers is not a solution, because the state budget has no income, except for taxes and fees, reports ipn.md The government’s policy is to support economic agents through programs aimed at ensuring business development, not through tax exemptions that jeopardize budget sustainability. Recently, in a joint letter from the president of the National Farmers Federation, the chairman of the Moldova Fruct Association and the chairman of the Farmers’ Force Association, farmers demanded that the authorities postpone payments to creditors and provide tax breaks to farmers affected by the drought. “We are considering a package of measures for agricultural producers who have been affected by the drought and these measures will be announced soon. We have good programs designed to cover the damage by supporting farmers and businesses in general through support programs. When it comes to tax exemptions, there is not that good interaction and we lose income to the budget. Because of this, the budget loses the ability to finance agriculture, including through the Agricultural Intervention Fund, through subsidy programs,” Dumitru Budianschi said during the program “Rezoomat” on RliveTV. According to the Minister, everyone must pay taxes and fees to the state according to the law. “Like farmers, we are interested in making sure that there are support programs when problems arise, such as natural disasters. We also support and encourage insurance for farmers, but the general trend is to support farmers with programs and less resort to the practice of tax credits. We have no other sources of revenue than taxes and fees from citizens. As much as we collect from businesses, from citizens, so much we can give back to the community. Specifically, in this exceptional situation farmers may be helped by targeted, but effective methods,” the minister added. According to representatives of agricultural organizations, this year’s severe drought has threatened the corn harvest by 80-90 percent, while the sunflower and sugar beet crops have suffered by 60-70 percent. Farmers say that because of government inaction, much of the agricultural industry risks bankruptcy, resulting in the loss of thousands of jobs.