New important modifications – minimum salary, dividends and income tax


Dear valued customers,

Through the Government Decision no. 846/29.11.2017, published in the Official Gazette under no.  950/29.11.2017, the minimum guaranteed gross salary established at national level amounts to RON 1,900/month, as of January 2018. This represents the equivalent of RON 11.40/hour for 166.(6) hours average monthly working time.

On this occasion, we would like to restate that, as concerns the part-time employment contracts that do not fall within the mentioned categories of exceptions (the exceptions are presented here), the contributions will be paid in relation to the minimum salary, namely RON 665. Essentially, a gross salary below this amount would result in a net salary of negative value, which means that the employee will have to pay the contributions out of his/her own pocket. For example, for a part time contract for 2 hours, the gross salary would be 475 lei which means that the employee will have to bring 190 lei from his earnings in order to cover the contributions.

DO NOT forget to initiate the collective negotiation procedure (the procedure is described here). The procedure must be initiated by all means, regardless if it refers to one single employee or more. Non-compliance with this requirement may result in a fine ranging from RON 5,000 to RON 10,000.

We wish to remind you that the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 79/2017 on dividend payment stipulates a health insurance contribution of 10%. The calculation basis of this contribution will not be represented by the total dividends paid, but by the minimum gross salary. The law does not provide sufficient clarification regarding the situation when all dividends are paid in one month. At the present moment, there are various interpretations regarding the calculation of the contribution, which can be correlated with the whole year or only with that specific month. As soon as new modifications will be published, we will bring them to your attention. 

We mention that this contribution has to be paid only if the total income resulting from the activities listed below exceeds the equivalent of 12 minimum gross salaries per one year:
  • Income from independent activities
  • Income resulting from the partnership with a legal entity
  • Income from leased property
  • Income from investments
  • Income from agriculture, forestry and fish farming
  • Income from other sources
If the mentioned limit is exceeded, the health insurance contribution will be paid one single time, regardless if the income is derived from one or from all the activities above.

The Government Emergency Ordinance no. 79/2017 also brought changes regarding the revenue limit up to which legal entities are eligible for micro-enterprise income tax. More specifically, this limit increased from  500,000 EUR to  1,000,000 EUR. The exceptions regarding the companies that obtain income from consultancy and management activities were also removed. These companies will pay micro-enterprise income tax until their turnover exceeds 1,000,000 EUR.

Moreover, the published version of the law has excluded the articles according to which the companies with a share capital exceeding 45,000 EUR can choose to pay income tax even if their turnover is lower than 1,000,000 EUR.

According to the public statements, a new version of the law is to be released until the beginning of next year, which will provide for the option to pay income tax.

At the present time, we consider that the target will be a share capital of 45,000 EUR and at least 2 full-time employees. We will revert with further details.

Thank you!