Romania continues to struggle with VAT collection, falling behind all other EU member states, while neighboring Bulgaria has managed to achieve considerable progress by implementing recommended reforms, according to a comparison highlighted by BGNES and HotNews.ro.

Both countries were part of World Bank programs aimed at improving VAT revenue collection. However, their paths diverged significantly. Bulgaria followed through on the proposed measures and steadily moved up the EU rankings over the past decade. Romania, on the other hand, chose to halt its reform efforts in 2019 under the government of Viorica Dăncilă.

The latest data from the European Commission, covering 2022, shows Romania with the largest VAT collection deficit in the European Union - a gap of 30.6%. This figure represents the difference between the VAT expected and the amount actually collected. For comparison, the average VAT gap across the EU stands at just 6%.

Bulgaria, once also at the bottom of the ranking, now sits in 15th place among the 27 EU countries. In 2022, its VAT collection deficit was 7.7%, a significant improvement from earlier years. In fact, Bulgaria performed even better in 2021, when the gap had narrowed to just 4.9%.