Acta Universitatis Danubius. Œconomica, Vol 7, No 4 (2011)

Abstract

The issue of tax harmonization at EU level is becoming more present in the global crisis context, as it is both accepted and disputed by the European officials that manifest their preference for either coordination or tax competition. The crisis has generated, among other things, large budget deficits and a dangerous crisis of debts in the euro area, a situation that has attracted many followers in terms of tax harmonization. There is a European regulated Area, a unique European market, European unique currency and common monetary policy which regard the criteria relating to public finances (budget deficits, public debt). We ask ourselves to what extent it is necessary to achieve coordination or even tax unification and how does that help. This paper examines, according to the statistical database, the level and type of taxation, on categories of taxes and as a share of GDP, in Romania compared to EU countries, in order to clarify the current situation, the existing differences, the prospect of good European practice. If we speak of tax harmonization in terms of being acquired by Romania, the conclusion is that we can not report only to the technical or quantifiable aspects, as compared with the best results in European area, because they do not represent a guarantee of similar results. The fiscal policy must be both a prerequisite and a consequence of sustainable economic and financial policies, and the tax harmonization can only help insofar as it relates to the relationships between states and not at the tax level.