Proceedings

The accrual accounting is also a potential source of differences between accounting
and taxation. Generally speaking, fiscal regulations recognize revenue and
expenditure as they were recorded in the books. Nevertheless, in some cases, the
moment of accounting recognition does not coincide with the moment of tax
recognition. In IAS/IFRS terms, some of these inconsistencies are considered
temporary differences. Here are the current difference sources: accounting
depreciation different from tax depreciation; adjustments for depreciation that are not
tax deductible; provisions that are not tax deductible; interests whose deductibility is
deferred; specific revenue from equity securities that is not taxable; differences
between book and tax values occurred further to restructuring and reorganization
operations. Nevertheless, unlike IAS/IFRS, Romanian accounting regulations (no
longer) require the use of the deferred tax mechanism.
Separate asset and liability valuation is important from the fiscal viewpoint, since it
prevents assigning individual values in a neutral manner, which in its turn prevents,
for instance, the offsetting between favorable and unfavorable differences, should the
fiscal treatments applied to these differences be diverging.
Given the obligation of recording all individual revenue and expenditure components,
the accounting principle of non-offsetting also has fiscal effects, since it prevents, for
instance, the offsetting between a taxable income and a non-deductible expense and
vice-versa. Also, starting with the OMPF 3055/2009, another connection between
accounting and taxation is achieved, namely the asset exchange treatment.
As it was to be expected, substance over form may also have considerable fiscal
implications. Taxation regulations focus a great deal on supporting documents (with
few exceptions). Yet, the reflection in the books of the transactions should rather
consider their economic background, which would result in some approach
differences. We identified such a suggestive example, namely lease-back operations,
where accounting regulations propose a bookkeeping method that is totally different
from the one suggested by fiscal regulations. In other cases (sales under various
circumstances), a daring accounting approach may bring about taxation advantages in
terms of deferred tax and charge payment.We agree with the idea according to which
the relation between accounting and taxation, measured by the method employed to
calculate profit/loss from the accounting and fiscal viewpoints, does not have the
same characteristics for all the categories of companies. Company size, funding
method (marketable or not), or affiliation to a group, as well as the nationality of the
major shareholders/stockholders, the interest in terms of resource mobilization from
banks or other crediting institutions are all variables that the application and fiscal
recognition of accounting principles may depend on.
REFERENCES
Aisbitt, Sally (2002), „Tax and accounting rules: some recent developments” in European
Business Review, volume 14, number 2, pp. 92-97
Albu, C., Albu, N., Alexander, D. (2010), „Accounting Change in Romania – A Historical
Analysis”, 31ème congrès annuel de l’Association Francophone de Comptabilité, Nice
Collette, Christine (1994), Initiation à la gestion fiscale de l’entreprise, Eyrolles, Paris
Cozian, Maurice (1996), Les grands principes de la fiscalité des entreprises, 3-eme édition,
Litec, Paris
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