Romania

Romania is a semi-presidential democratic republic. Its capital and government seat is Bucharest. The parliament consists of 486 members. The heads of state are the prime minister and the chairman.

Summarised recent history
During the Second World War Romania chose sides with Germany in its battle against the Western alliance. After their defeat, the communist government seized power with as result that the economy was reorganised subject to Soviet methods. Agriculture was collectivised and the traditional Romanian culture was changed or destructed. Ten thousands of people were interned and thousands died in prisons and labour camps.

Under the regime of Nicolae Ceausescu (1967-1989) Romania was locked away behind the iron curtain, resulting in a massive famine. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Ceausescu was tried and executed. Romania became a member of the NATO and the EU in 2004 and 2007 respectively.

Romania is actively carrying through economic and juridical reforms in order to successfully root out all the remaining corruption.
In daily practice corruption hardly or never occurs with the purchasing and operations of farmland. The purchase only involves (Western European) private individuals and the government is hardly or not involved at all.

Romania welcomes free enterprises and meets all the requirements which are necessary for retaining its EU membership. Nowadays Romania is a prosperous and blooming country which is rapidly re-integrating with Western Europe. Sixty percent of the Romanian population is working in the agricultural sector. See the enormous agricultural investment opportunities at the heart of the fertile Black Sea Farm Belt.

Currency
The Romanian Lei is the domestic currency. Currently the Lei is not part of the European exchange rate mechanism. The Lei is not linked to the Euro. Farmland trading is being done in Euro currency.

Taxes

  • The individual income tax rate is 16% basis
  • The rates for corporation tax are 16% basis
  • Capital gain of companies and private individuals is taxed against 16%
  • Private individuals pay 2-3% taxes over the profit from the sales of immoveable property
  • Romanian companies and private individuals pay taxes over their Romanian and global income
  • Foreign companies and private individuals only pay taxes over the Romanian source of income
  • The VAT is a direct tax against a standard rate of 21%
  • Romania has a land tax which applies to the farmlands located in Romania. This means a tax of 2% of the most recent transaction value

Ownership laws
Each EU resident can privately buy farmland in Romania as from 2014, subject to the following conditions. Non-EU residents can buy land via incorporation of a public limited company with the foreign investor as sole shareholder. Up to now (2013) farmland is/was only bought by foreigners through a Romanian company.

  • The land must be used for agricultural/forestry purposes

Geographics and Maps

  • Total surface area: 237,500 km2
  • Surrounding countries: Bulgaria, Moldavia, Hungary, Serbia and Ukraine

Demographics

  • Population: 21,400,000
  • Language: Romanian
  • Religion: Orthodox 86.8%; Protestant 7.5%; Catholic 4.7%; Muslim 0.9%
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