The Implementation of an Inheritance Tax in Romanian Legal System

Abstract

It is a common practice to impose a specific tax on the transfer of wealth occurring upon the death of a person. In Romania the inheritance tax is not a genuine inheritance tax due to its character of a fine or a penalty for the non¬completion of the succession procedure in term of 2 (two) years from the death of de cuius (the deceased). This article is going to examine the theories on the inheritance tax, without overlooking the evolution of the death taxes in ancient Rome and in modern Romania. We will argue that inheritance tax shouldn’t be seen as a payment in return for various services rendered by the state in general, but as a special fee for the ulterior protection of the ownership which results from the mortis causa transmission and that the obtained income should be benefited by the cadastral register. Also, in the hypothesis of the implementation of a genuine inheritance tax, the Romanian legislator should rethink the inheritance statute in order to offer more flexibility in terms of the payment of the inheritance tax and should reconcile its legislation with EU Member States in order to avoid double taxation with respect to taxes on successions