The retrospective of excise taxation and the need for harmonization at the current stage of excise duty rates in the Republic of Moldova with those of the European Union

The excise tax is a consumption tax that is applied to goods with an inelastic demand, so that the increase in the prices of these products does not significantly influence consumption. In this way, the state not only ensures a stable and relatively predictable source of tax revenues, but also limits the consumption of products harmful to health. The European integration of the Republic of Moldova has become the priority of the country's internal and external policy, thus there is a need to carry out a series of reforms in all areas, but of special importance are the reforms related to the harmonization of legislation and fiscal systems. As a result of the importance of excise duties in the structure of indirect taxes collected by the Republic of Moldova, but also the difference between the excise duty rates applied by our country and the EU member countries, the problem of their harmonization obviously arises.