The state spends over 400 million lei for the residents of the Transnistrian region, but collects much less. Tofan announces new taxes from January 1

The government will expand, from January 1, 2027, the list of goods destined for the Transnistrian region for which taxes will be applied, with a new stage of fiscal measures to be introduced from April 1. The announcement was made by Prime Minister Vasile Tofan, who claims that the state spends over 400 million lei annually on pensions, allowances and medical services provided to citizens from the left bank of the Nistru River, while the revenues collected from taxes are much lower.

During the podcast "La raport", moderated by Nicolae Chicu, the prime minister was asked about the protest organized in Tiraspol, during which the participants asked the authorities in Chisinau to abandon the fiscal measures applied to economic agents in the Transnistrian region.

Tofan responded that the Republic of Moldova bears significant expenses for its citizens living on the left bank of the Nistru River, including for the payment of pensions, maternity benefits, and for the provision of medical services in institutions on the right bank.

According to the Prime Minister, these expenses will exceed 400 million lei in 2026, an amount considerably higher than the tax revenues collected by the constitutional authorities in relation to the Transnistrian region.

"I will now say a figure that I think is important for Moldovans to know. And it is also important for residents of the left bank of the Nistru River to know. Our state will spend over 400 million lei this year for the pensions of Moldovan citizens residing on the left bank of the Nistru River: birth allowances, medical services in our institutions. And here, I must say that what we collect from taxes is a much, much smaller figure than what we are currently spending. Yes, we do not have the option not to spend, because they are our citizens, but I think it is also fair to our citizens on the right bank of the Nistru River, who pay these taxes, for us to have fiscal responsibility towards our common budget," said Vasile Tofan.

The Prime Minister explained that the Government intends to gradually integrate the Transnistrian region into the tax system of the Republic of Moldova. The process began with the application of taxes on certain categories of goods, especially luxury products, with the list of these to be expanded in two stages, early next year.

"We must gradually economically integrate the region on the left bank of the Dniester into our fiscal space, because we spend much more than we collect at the moment. You saw the collections in September were 2 million lei. It is true that we started with caviar, furs and other luxury products, but from January 1 we will expand the list quite a bit," the Chief Executive stated.

Tofan stated that the first stage was conceived as a pilot project, through which the authorities aim to verify the application of the fiscal mechanism and the possibility of companies from the Transnistrian region to use banking services in the Republic of Moldova.

"Let's see how things go, let's make sure that companies there can open bank accounts in our banks. So there are a few things that need to be tested. From January 1st we will expand, from April 1st there will be the third phase of expansion and I think it's right to do it gradually, to integrate this space into our fiscal area", Tofan concluded.