> The net capital gain is subject to income tax at the flat rate of 10%. The taxable amount is calculated based on the difference between the sale price and the acquisition price of the shares. In general, broker/transaction fees in connection with the acquisition or sale are tax deductible.
Either way you are right, quality of life is subjective. I don't particularly enjoy life here overall, just taxes and the group of friends I have. Romania is far behind central and western europe in terms of mindset, but is nowhere near the low level i thought it was.
These taxes we are debating here apply mainly to "contractors". In Romania there are incentives for permanent tech employees as well, getting closer to the 40% mark - a bit higher. Non tech seems like it's taxed more on par with northern europe (factoring in income tax, health care tax, and some other taxes idk much about).
120k is a medium level contract in the UK, at least for my background, so I am technically speaking ... cheap.
In Romania, from what I gather, a director can mean a low level manager. Pretty soon the market will adjust and learn that they are not worth the money. CTO/CEO director levels, yes. Experienced Product Managers that actually drive the product, sure. But management that does nothing but crack the whip and demand to be addressed as "dumneavoastra" to inflate their egos are a dying breed.
There are some scams too around OLX, but the quality is indeed way below what you find on imobiliare as you can see. One of the other reasons is that expats usually use the latter, thus you are more likely to find better communities. In my building there are Spanish, Italian, Canadian, US, UK, Nigerian tenants among Romanians working either tech or blue collar. Plenty of cultural exchange and, naturally, beer tasting. However, it's still Romania and services are not something I am happy with, nor can i get used to the aggressive driving and generally speaking the occasional hostility (people just getting pissed off for no reason).
It is. Worth noting that I know no one among locals that are permanent employees to earn < 2500 EUR after tax. Pre-tax as a permanent that's 45-50k EUR a year (with some margin of error). That's for senior level devs with > 10 years of experience. Junior or mid is way less. BI/Data science or web dev. Game dev and other types of development are low paid, as in western europe. I had my first shock when Microsoft offered a salary of 70k + bens for someone from cluj napoca to relocate to London around 2014, and they flat out turned it out because cost of living adjusted they earned more in Cluj. Go figure that out. Tbh if you earn 2.5k in Romania after tax you are way way better off than someone earning 4k in London.
No need to ask for a friend :P as in other countries mentioned here, VAT for intra community (or in my case non EU / UK) trade there is no VAT. You do have to register as a VAT company but since there is none you charge there is none to pay. My daily rate is 450 GBP (500 EUR more or less) and that's it. No VAT added despite being a VAT reg company. There is nothing dodgy, it is by design. The country benefits by preventing a brain drain and keeping money in the country.
If you like them then there is no issue, but usually i find them of lower quality. Not saying there aren't decent apartments, but anything <650/700 is not great IMO. Also the areas I mentioned look and feel like a different country hence willing to pay more. No trying to be sure or demeaning sorry if i come across that way.
6202 is strictly for consulting services (ie. no programming). was advised by anaf and my accountant not to use it as it would be, basically, fraud (since i also write code not just "advice" - which is what the romanian tax system defines as consulting). use it at your own risk as they can back-tax if they catch you.
I can only speak about Bucharest as that's the area I know best. From what I see it has a slightly higher GDP per capita than Lithuania, and if you factor in the metro area, Bucharest has the same population as the country.
"And is this meant to imply that standard of living is higher in Bucharest than, say, Vilnius?"
Statistically, it is, albeit by a small margin. There is also Cluj Napoca (Romania's second or third largest city, similar size to Vilnius), also at a higher standard of living than both, but I don't know much about that city. Outside these two, Romania is a wasteland.
Edit: Interesting:
Vilnius is the major economic centre of Lithuania. The GDP per capita (nominal) in Vilnius county was €25,400 (~US$30,000)[285] in 2019, making it the wealthiest region in Lithuania and the second-wealthiest region in the Baltic states.
Almost one third of national taxes is paid by Bucharest's citizens and companies. In 2009, at purchasing power parity, Bucharest had a per-capita GDP of €26,100, or 111% that of the European Union average and more than twice the Romanian average.
So likely Bucharest's GDP per capita is higher by a wider margin.
Edit 2:
The region Bucharest-Ilfov is the most developed region in Romania, with a GDP per capita of 139% of the European average. Bucharest thus surpasses other European capitals such as Athens, where the GDP per capita reaches 92% of the EU average, Madrid (125%), Berlin (118%), or Budapest (102%).
> I was under impression it was 1-3% profit tax + 5% dividend with an upper limit of 1 million euros? Or has that changed (again)?
Correct, but on average mine works out around 7% and I have almost 0 company expenses as I don't partake in dodgy wizardry.
> at least compared to what I saw on olx.ro.
one does _not_ rent property on OLX and there are only some areas that are desirable (i.e.: have to look and feel of central or western europe).
try imobiliare.ro and look around baneasa, floreasca, aviatiei, herastrau, or pipera (voluntari). prices vary but generally speaking a new building, parking included, security is in the range above.
Hold on I am also in Romania and pay 7%. Are you classed as PFA Consultant? If so then there's no programming "allowed" else it's the wrong category. Which tax code are you using so I can switch?
There is plenty of negativity surrounding east europe on HN so there is no need to remind people they won't get the same quality of life as in western europe, but it's not that bad. At least that's what i keep telling myself and counting invoices. I saved enough to buy a deeecent flat in London (>600kEUR).
> Do not be under the illusion that Bulgaria is just like $western_european_country but with less taxes and cheaper housing. Everything comes at a price. You will not find many things you take for granted in your home country here.
Technically speaking you are right: there is almost no police, no public health care (quality is too low to even step foot in a public hospital), school are pretty low quality, and people tend to be rude. But for a temporary gig (I am in Romania due to taxes for a few years) it can be beneficial. It's not as bad as say India or Pakistan as east eu countries are orders of magnitude more developed, and if you can put up with the nuisance for a while then you can return to your western country and maybe afford a deposit to stop living with flatmates as an adult. Worth while in my case.
While I am not so sure about Lithuania (lower GDP per capita than Bucharest, Bucharest being twice as developed as the rest of Romania, ibm, google, amazon, microsoft all having offices here with pay comparable to germany as a backup plan - could be wrong, but it sure is colder), Malta is now an option considering your comment - had no idea taxes are low in that country. Working from near a beach is the dream tbh.
Considering how tax money are being used in these countries, even 7% is too much. I don't mind taxes, but there's too much embezzlement so some dude in the parliament can buy lambos. An issue common to countries in the region, but less so in Poland or Romania.
In Romania you pay 7% tax for an LTD (dividend + corporate tax) and for up to 100k turnover you pay <2% as a consultant registered as a PFA (sole trader), or 10% as a non consultant but software engineer as a PFA. The cost of living is a bit higher than bulgaria but so is the standard of living (i.e.: I pay roughly 850 EUR rent pcm in Bucharest for a two bed flat, enjoy private health care and generally speaking a more decent living standard). Earn around 120k EUR per year and get to keep > 90% after tax as per above.
> The net capital gain is subject to income tax at the flat rate of 10%. The taxable amount is calculated based on the difference between the sale price and the acquisition price of the shares. In general, broker/transaction fees in connection with the acquisition or sale are tax deductible.
I have no clue tho how it works.