Romania Agric Min: Over 400,000 People Liable To Sanctions For Unfarmed Lands

Over 400,000 people holding more than 1.5 million hectares of unfarmed lands are likely to be sanctioned as of spring, Agriculture Ministry state secretary Adrian Radulescu told MEDIAFAX Tuesday.
Radulescu said Romania registers 1.5 up to two million hectares of unfarmed land owned by 400,000 up to 500,000 people, adding talks on levying new taxes are underway.

Unfarmed lands account for nearly 20% of Romania's total farming area, and nearly 8.1 million hectares of land are already farmed.

Romania's Finance Minister Sebastian Vladescu on Tuesday said people who own farming lands but don't use them should be sanctioned.

Vladescu said he hasn't yet talked to Agriculture Ministry officials about levying taxes on farmland, adding, however, he backs the idea of sanctioning all those who own farming lands and don't use them.

Owners of farming lands located outside town currently pay an annual tax of 36 lei (EUR1=RON4.1298) up to RON43 per hectare, and the money goes to local budgets.

In January this year, Vladescu said currently there is no talk about levying new taxes in the country's agriculture sector, but he voiced the dire need to levy taxes on unregistered farmland.

He also said at the time that bottlenecks in the agriculture sector don't go down to the level of taxes, but the way they are collected.