The tax benefits granted to historic vehicles do not represent a privilege, but an instrument to support the preservation of the mobile heritage, which the Romanian state has recognized and supported, say representatives of Retromobil Club Romania.
The clarifications come in the context of statements made recently by the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Sorin Grindeanu, who said that Romania's budget must be for all Romanians, not just the rich, adding that the country's billionaires "with collector cars" worth hundreds of millions of euros were exempt from taxes worth 150 million lei.
''Retromobil Club Romania, FIVA national authority, firmly rejects recent statements in the public space suggesting that the tax benefits granted to historic vehicles would represent an advantage reserved for extremely wealthy individuals, critically and demonizingly called, in a recent political discourse, 'Romania's billionaires who evade paying taxes'. Such a presentation is false, unfair and deeply offensive to a community built in almost three decades of work, passion and civic responsibility'', reads a statement sent to AGERPRES on Monday.
According to the cited source, in the 28 years of its existence, Retromobil Club Romania has managed to bring together over 6,000 members and approximately 11,000 historically certified vehicles.
''Our members come from very diverse social backgrounds: students, employees, entrepreneurs, retirees, former soldiers, professionals from many fields, people from families who have chosen to save and preserve part of Romania's technical and cultural heritage. The mission of Retromobil Club Romania is aligned with that of the International Federation of Historic Vehicles (FIVA), a UNESCO-accredited organization, to protect and preserve historic automotive heritage; in this sense, Retromobil, as a member of FIVA, supports maintaining Romanian legislation in line with European Union norms, which provide tax facilities for historic vehicles'', reads the cited source.
The Retromobil community, the press release also states, has always been a space of "solidarity" and "passion", in which ordinary people make considerable efforts to recover, restore and preserve vehicles that would otherwise have disappeared forever.
Retromobil Club Romania has taken on a "unique" mission, which the Romanian state has not delivered: that of establishing a national museum on wheels and making it available to the public throughout the country, free of charge, the press release informs.
''The tax benefits granted to historic vehicles must therefore be understood in this context: not as a privilege, but as an instrument to support the conservation of mobile heritage, which the Romanian state has recognized and supported. We draw attention to the fact that political rhetoric, which forcibly opposes communities of enthusiasts to other social categories, is dangerous because it does not build solidarity, but divides, stigmatizes and turns into a public target people who contribute, in a concrete way, to the preservation of the national heritage and a part of the memory of our country. We call for responsibility, balance and respect in public discourse and we ask that the communities that keep Romania's technical and cultural memory alive are not turned into scapegoats or presented in a caricatured manner'', is the message of Retromobil Club Romania.
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