Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Ludovic Orban, the national leader of the National Liberal Party (PNL), said on Friday that, in his opinion, as long as people remain economically active they have to pay contributions and taxes, regardless of their age.

Asked if he would agree for PNL to endorse a bill tabled by a PNL MP under which people who remain economically active after retirement age should no longer pay social security contributions, Orban said that as long as a person remains gainfully employed, contributions must be paid, regardless of age.

"As long as you derive income from various activities, as long as you are an economically active person, my opinion is that taxes and contributions must be paid, regardless of age, especially because the bill that is being debated and in procedure for being adopted by the government provides for the possibility of gainful employment over the age of 65, the retirement age, up to the age of 70, as a right. If someone asks to continue gainful employment after reaching the age of retirement, that is a personal decision and rather a right. As such, I do not see why they should stop paying the pension contributions. In principle, it is very important that the tax system be based on very clear principles; discriminatory taxation must be reduced as much as possible, equal treatment of the citizens must be secured from a fiscal point of view," said Orban at the end of a visit at the headquarters of the Official Journal. AGERPRES (RO - author: Catalina Matei, editor: Mihai Simionescu; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Adina Panaitescu)