The Minister said that his party will continue to support the elimination of the lump-sum tax as of 1 September, as budget revenues could be compensated by an increase in royalties. Calculations indicate that raising royalties for mineral water or taxes on construction materials would lead to a 0.25 percent increase in gross domestic product.
These statements are in contradiction with that of President Traian Basescu, who indicted that one fifth of civil servants must be laid off, and with the decision of Prime Minister Emil Boc to talk with each minister about a reduction in staff within government agencies.
Minister of Education Ecaterina Andronescu said that she has already initiated “rational [staff] reductions,” after announcing last week that some 20,000 substitute teachers will no longer be paid as of September, due to a drop in the number of pupils. In turn, Minister of Agriculture Ilie Sarbu announced that he will cut the number of agencies and institutes to 13 from 33, which will lead to a 20 percent drop in staff.
