Taxes and fees represent a fundamental condition necessary for the State to intervene in the economy and in society. Any activity of the Executive, legislature and judiciary require money and this money coming from fees and taxes. The very Government activity to collect taxes is paid from the taxes extracted earlier.
There is a fundamental difference between the money we pay through taxes and the money they pay when buying something (product or service) put on sale on the market: taxes are mandatory, and failure to comply with this obligation shall be punished. In Romania, the penalty for tax evasion is currently in prison to 15 years. It's a huge penalty was established by the Government of Tariceanu, representing an increase of the maximum penalty of eight years, established by the Government, which, in turn, had been a previous punishment of up to seven years.
In Exchange, the State undertakes to provide a sum of citizen services. It is assumed that at least some of these services can be offered either by private agents, either would not have access to them all citizens, although they are still much too important to not be available to anyone. In this regard, one speaks of a social contract between State and citizen. This is not a genuine contract because it is not voluntary but imposed force, but, even so, it is a great achievement that, in democratic present, it is believed that, ideally, the activities of the Government and the Parliament must be in the service of the citizen that pays. The real situation from Romania is very distant from this ideal. The reason is not only corruption, but also wasting funds due to involuntary excessive bureaucracy and incompetency, and aggression towards private competition to address services provided by the State.
Why is the difference between buying a service available on the market and to pay taxes to support the functioning of the State a "fundamental" difference? Because, when we pay for something voluntarily, the producer shall be obliged, if you own or interest, take into account our preference-recipients of the service that it offers; If no one does, eventually, go bankrupt. If the producer has the possibility to take money by force, then no longer has any reason to knock heads with the quality of service that it provides. It is for this reason that the services and products offered by the State are always worse than similar services and products offered by private firms. This is why, if private companies can provide any service that we offer and the State, the State should not abuse this power to private competition hindering to appear (or, if it occurred, to try remove it).
At present, the Romanian State prevents this competition, for instance in the field of transport, education and justice; This is one of the reasons why public transport in Bucharest is disastrous, education in Romania is extremely poor, and extraordinarily slow justice. RATB, schools, high schools and universities, as well as courts have no reason to even try to satisfy the wishes of the citizens, so that, regardless of whether they do or not, the money all come and employees retain their functions. Why would they bother? Moreover, every time something goes wrong, any State Agency has the same answer: "Insufficient funds; If I had more money, I did! ". In other words, unlike the private sector, in which those who fail to satisfy the desires of our clients find themselves rapidly disappearing, in the administrative environment, as performezi, so you get more funding!
When people hear something running immediately to democracy. And they ask: we have here somehow to do with a failure of democracy? People should not have to vote for the Mayor to solve problem with PMI, the party that has a coherent plan for education reform and justice? The answer, of course, is that there is no party will have any coherent plan for next to nothing. And, anyway, the number is so big, their growth rate so fast and complex, and the parties are so little, so there is no question that the vote could lead to a realistic State efficiency in matters of detail.
Those who believe that we are dealing with a failure of democracy is very deceiving. Democracy is not made in order to solve problems of excessive. For that there are free market. Use democracy to solve the problems of management and coordination that go up to deciding the budget structure and acquisitions of a hospital or the schedule and the number of means of transportation means of playing the piano with boxing gloves. No matter who will find the Prime Minister will not be able to solve the problems of Romania-he or she personally, all I can do is to allow the Romans to find themselves solutions to problems faced by and allow them to implement these solutions without hundreds of permits and certificates from the State. And this implies also to let the Romans more money in their pockets. People are poor because the Government comes and takes your money, then they give orders and directions inepte instead leave them in peace. And, as if that would be enough, they put sticks in the wheels of the entrepreneurs, be they Romanian or foreign, which could employ people in productive and useful activities and that might bring funds and capital in underdeveloped areas.
Resources and the right decision must lie with those who have relevant knowledge in real time. For most probemelor, they are traders spread in thousands of local contexts. Here stand the force of the famed argument of knowledge dispersed hayekian and here lies our fiscal system Constitution weakness.
To straighten the situation, must be acted upon, and the deeper institutional causes, not private individuals chosen as scapegoats for political rivalitati. In short, the tax system must be changed and the concept of the State budget. The taxation system must be made more simple and clear (reducing it to a single form filled out once per year); you have reduced the distance between the taxpayer and use his money for the State, avoiding the loss of their way; you have removed all duties and taxes about which economic science has demonstrated that they can not achieve the stated purposes (customs duties being the most obvious example); hidden fees must be eliminated through which citizens are fraudati by the State (such as the devaluation of money as a result of their printing by the NBR, a method by which the Government obtains additional funding in addition to the fees collected); you have created and advocated a system of institutional competition between the different regions of Romania and Europe, in terms of fiscal independence of the municipal councils (in opposition towards the Equalization of tax proposed by the Lisbon Treaty); and, last but not least, you must volunteer component, increased further the principle of Law 2% through which, at present, people can yield 2% of income tax to any non-governmental organization seeking (concept can be expanded easily, at least in the field of education and health, for example, by means of voucher systems).
In the light of the said above, a Constitution or a Pocket Guide for next fiscal reform should include at least the following principles for fees and taxes:
1. Fewer.
2. As clear, simple and transparent (no hidden charges, no double taxation).
3. No charges motivated by a special group morals (no fees for proportional taxation, without flaw).
4. Without well mercantilist and feudal (no import duties, no charges applied to manufacturers/distributors for the benefit of others, such as car tax, no inheritance taxes and property).
5. Distance as small between the authority uses the money from taxes and authority, in order to simplify the bureaucratic apparatus.
6. Institutional competition more severe fiscal decentralization and inside Romania and at european level. This measure would drastically limit the influence of special interests and would empower local communities.
7. Strengthening voluntary component (extending and increasing the proportion of 2% and the principle system of vouchers in all areas of general interest and limited to the territory of Romania).
8. Budgeting and financing, so an to be oriented towards projects of great amplitude, long term and of general interest. Numerous interventions in specific projects get out of control and serving special interests and increase opportunities for trafficking in influence. Any allocation to specific projects will be voted on in Parliament only by qualified majority.
