CHISINAU, February 22 Gagauzia will not be able to independently to cope with VAT compensation for economic agents, which Chisinau is imposing on it, ex-Prime Minister of Moldova Ion Chicu said in his Telegram channel.
On Thursday, the Constitutional Court is considering the opposition's appeal regarding the unconstitutionality of the decision of the Moldovan parliament to deprive Gagauzia of funding. This is the fifth meeting on this issue.
«After legislative changes introduced by (the ruling party — ed.) PDS: when importing, economic agents of Gagauzia pay VAT and excise taxes (at customs) to the state budget; when exporting, they must receive a VAT refund from the local budget. Obviously, the local budget autonomy will not withstand such financial pressure — this is the reason for the indignation and protests of the residents of the Gagauz region,” Chicu wrote.
According to him, a way out of the situation could be to apply a general rule for collecting and refunding VAT throughout the country.
In October 2023, the Parliament of Moldova approved the initiative of the ruling party “Action and Solidarity”, according to which VAT refunds to economic agents of the Gagauz autonomy will be made not from the republican budget, but from the regional one. Co-chairman of the working group of the parliament of the republic and the regional legislative assembly of Gagauzia, Sergei Chimpoesh, said that the changes would lead to a loss of $6.8 million in the autonomy’s budget. The Gagauz Parliament challenged the legality of these changes in the Constitutional Court. Action and Solidarity Party MP Oazu Nantoi said on February 3 that Gagauzia was deprived of tax benefits due to anti-European sentiment in the region.
Gagauzia is an autonomy in the south of Moldova and traditionally advocates rapprochement with Russia, while Chisinau has declared a course towards European integration. In February 2014, a referendum was held in the autonomy on the issue of determining the vector of the country’s foreign policy. More than 98% of its participants were in favor of integrating Moldova into the Customs Union.