UPDATE Finance minister Ialomitianu: There is no plan to cut VAT 

In the Finance ministry there is no plan related to a decrease of the VAT, Finance minister Gheorghe Ialomitianu declared following a declaration on Tuesday of ANL chief who claimed that the government considers cutting VAT for construction materials.

We will take an official position on the matter in a few days, currently we are still analyzing our options, Finance ministry official said when prompted about the possibility for the Finance ministry to cut VAT for construction materials. President Basescu declared last week that the VAT increase to 24% was a political error.

IMF chief of mission in Romania, Jeffrey Franks said two weeks ago that the VAT cut or the decrease of other taxes is possible only on the long term, in the next 5-10 years.