OREANDA-NEWS. The first virtual IT parks will be created in the Republic of Moldova. The draft law on the IT industry parks was approved today, by the Parliament during first reading. 

 “The IT industry has the highest added value, and it isn’t tied to geographic or climatic features, the main resource being the man and his knowledge. It can significantly contribute to the national economy development.  To this end, it is necessary to create a transparent and business-friendly system, where the constraints and opportunities of interpretation of legal norms would be eliminated”, the Minister of Information Technology and Communications mentioned during the Parliament session. Pavel Filip stated that the MITC project supports companies activating in the IT field and provides them a competitive platform for development.

The key-element of the project is to implement the innovative taxation model for the IT parks residents by applying a single tax in the amount of 7% to the sales volume. “This model of taxation means simple, clear and transparent mechanisms of administration, which leaves no place for bureaucracy and corruption. Thus there will be created an attractive and competitive environment for attracting investments and development of this sector with an enormous potential”, the Minister of ICT pointed out.

It is also proposed the exemption for the IT parks residents from VAT and customs duties on import of computer technology and equipment for the production capacity development. “The parks shall operate in “virtual” regime and residents can accomplish specified types of activity from their offices, located on the territory of the Republic of Moldova. The draft law provides expressly 5 types of activities, in particular related to the programs development,  which can be carried out within IT parks”, Pavel Filip specified. 

The Draft Law on IT parks is a part of the Strategy on IT industry competitiveness growth for the years 2015 – 2021, approved and implemented by the Government. It was elaborated and promoted by the Ministry of Information Technology and Communications, with the support of the development partners: the World Bank, USAID, German Economic Team and international consulting company PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), selected through an open competition.

Currently, the Republic of Moldova has 682 companies working in IT with more than 9000 employees. The average salary in the IT sector is the highest in the national economy – about 9000 lei. With the implementation of this Law provisions, the number of companies and employees shall considerably grow, with positive impact on the entire national economy.