RCS & RDS. Orange, Telekom, Vodafone finished 2018 with a new tax that will affect their activity in 2019, the first ones already taking the decision to increase the prices of services which they offer for customers in Romania. A first good news for RCS & RDS, owned by Digi, and the rest of the operators came just before the end of 2018, when ANCOM said that the turnover tax contravenes European legislation, but for now this has not in any way affected its application in Romania.
RCS & RDS. Another very good news could come very soon from the EU, because the European Central Bank is analyzing the new tax on greed imposed on banks, and the institutions that regulate the European telecom market could do something similar. Although for now no analysis has been announced regarding the new tax imposed on RCS & RDS and the other telecom companies in Romania, it is very possible that the EU authorities will analyze it, as happened in the case of the tax on greed, imposed on banks.
RCS & RDS, Orange, Telekom and Vodafone could get help from the EU with the new tax
RCS & RDS. It is possible that the European institutions that regulate the telecom market require a notification from the Romanian operators to analyze the situation, and if it is done, then their situation could change. Since ANCOM analyzed the European documentation and stated that the new tax in Romania is contrary to it, it is very possible that RCS & RDS, Vodafone, Orange, Telekom will get rid of its payment if the institutions of the European Commission intervene.
RCS & RDS. The first impact of the tax was made on this operator, he is already increasing the prices for services in Romania, and it is expected that Orange, Telekom, Vodafone will do the same to cover the tax. There are opinions according to which the operators should not increase the prices of their services following the imposition, but RCS & RDS has already done so, and for the others the increases could be much higher than the few extra LEI added by Digi.
RCS & RDS. If I had to give my opinion, again, I would say that at some point the European Commission will be involved, but it is unlikely that the operators will easily escape this new tax without great insistence.
