Visa Europe: Romanians paid almost three times more taxes by card online in the first two months of 2014

The value of local taxes paid by card online almost tripled in the first two months of 2014 compared to the similar period in 2013, to RON 6.6 million, according to according to data reported by Visa Europe’s member banks in Romania.

Online tax payments by card are by far the safest and most convenient way of paying the fiscal obligations, without additional costs for taxpayers and, in the same time, an efficient way of optimizing the municipalities’ resources. We are getting closer to having an efficient local tax payment system. In this respect, we welcome the authorities’ initiative from the end of 2013 to eliminate from the legislation the possibility for municipalities to surcharge payments through ghiseul.ro. Within the newly developed legal framework, we expect an increase in the number of municipalities that accept the online tax payments. Furthermore, we believe it is necessary that authorities, through amending the secondary legislation, allow the use of simplified ways in order to distribute the access data for ghiseul.ro to taxpayers, which will lead to a significant increase in the use of this platform

Catalin Cretu,

Area Manager Romania & Croatia, Visa Europe.

The internet enables taxpayers to pay their taxes anytime and anywhere, thus avoiding the possible queues at the desks. At the end of last year, a total number of 96 municipalities accepted online payments for local taxes, through ghiseul.ro or their own platforms.

Visa Europe, together with its member banks in Romania, run till the end of March 2014 the fifth annual edition of the national campaign to foster local tax payments by card.

All Visa cardholders who pay their local taxes by card between January 15 and March 31, 2014 will participate in a promotion that can bring them, through a lucky-draw, total prizes amounting to over RON 130,000. Moreover, Visa Europe together with member banks, organize for the second consecutive year the national competition of local tax payment by card, which is open to all municipalities in the country that accept payments by card. The city hall that will be the most active in supporting the local tax payments by card is to receive during a press conference the honorary title of “Most Modern City Hall”.

Another component of the national tax campaign run by Visa Europe that allows taxpayers to pay simple and quickly the local taxes is represented by the special locations opened daily until the end of March 2014, in several shopping centers and banks’ branches in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Constanta, Targu-Mures and Iasi. This initiative aims to support taxpayers who want to benefit from increasingly more simple ways to pay their taxes. Until 15th of March, Romanians paid by card local taxes worth more than RON 1 million at these special locations.

Local taxes can be paid with any type of card at these special locations, using the same IT system as the one installed at the fiscal administrations. Thus, based on their ID cards, taxpayers can check exactly how much they have to pay, including the contingent back payments, and can decide whether to make a full or partial payment.

Visa Europe is a payments technology business owned and operated by member banks and other payment service providers from 37 countries across Europe. Visa Europe works at the forefront of technology to create the services and infrastructure which enable millions of European consumers, businesses and governments to make electronic payments. Its members are responsible for issuing cards, signing up retailers and deciding cardholder and retailer fees.

There are 500m Visa cards in Europe, while €1 in every €6.50 spent in Europe is on a Visa card. In the year to September 2013, total expenditure on Visa cards reached €2 trillion, while point-of-sale spend increased by 8.5% to €1.4 trillion. Annual online spending on Visa cards continues to grow (20% year-on-year) and now stands at €240bn.

Since 2004, Visa Europe has been independent of Visa Inc. and incorporated in the UK, with an exclusive, irrevocable and perpetual licence in Europe.  Both companies work in partnership to enable global Visa payments. As a dedicated European payment system Visa Europe is able to respond quickly to the specific market needs of European banks and their customers – cardholders and retailers – and to meet the European Commission’s objective to create a true internal market for payments.