There is money to raise pensions by 12% from July
All salaries – by bank transfer
Anyone who does not receive a receipt at a restaurant will have the right not to pay the bill. This is one of the measures for greater VAT collection that Finance Minister Asen Vasilev is proposing with the draft for the new budget for 2023.
Exactly the same idea “24 Chasa” launched in August 2022, and the NRA supported it. The campaign followed the example of Greece, where the measure was introduced alongside the promotion of card payments to minimize the shadow economy. Now Vassilev proposes to introduce it in Bulgaria with a change in the VAT Law. (see here)
During the presentation of the parameters of the new budget on Wednesday, the finance minister also said that Bulgaria is negotiating with the European Commission and the European Central Bank to introduce the euro as a parallel currency from the beginning of 2024. If this happens, it will also be possible for transactions between individuals to is paid in euros, and salaries are paid in the European currency.
BGN 3.6 billion in cut costs, including BGN 1.7 billion from maintenance and capital funding, and BGN 4.7 billion more to be collected by revenue agencies, the draft budget prepared by the Ministry of Finance envisages. The deficit is 3% and fully meets the criteria for the Eurozone, emphasized Vassilev.
The growth of the economy for this year will be 1.8%, in 2024 it will accelerate to 3.3%, and in 2025 it is expected to be 3.2%. Expectations are that at the end of 2023, inflation will decrease to 5.6%, and the average annual rate will be 8.7% due to the decrease in food prices and the drop in energy prices. In 2024, inflation will continue to slow down, reaching 3.2% at the end of the year, and the annual average – 3.8%. In 2025, it will drop further – to 2.8 percent.
The money for all social payments, as well as for increases in pensions and salaries, is provided, Vassilev emphasized.
Taxes are not being raised, VAT relief remains until the end of the year, except for the indirect tax on gas, which returns to 20% because prices have normalized.
BGN 111 million more have been set aside in the budget to compensate people below the poverty line, BGN 50 million more are available under the Social Assistance Act, BGN 31 million more because of the larger scope of the one-off aid when starting school, he listed the minister. Together with the children of the first, second, third and fourth and eighth grade one-time
300 BGN grants will also be available for students in the 5th grade
class. The poverty line for this year is set at BGN 504, and the minimum pension becomes BGN 512-513, the minister also pointed out.
From July 1, all pensions are indexed by 12%. Teacher salaries are rising to reach 125% of the average. The money for the second year of maternity is being increased to BGN 780 instead of the current BGN 710 retroactively from January. The minimum salaries for nurses will be BGN 1,500, and for doctors – BGN 2,000.
More funds are allocated for defense – up to 1.88% of GDP. Food vouchers in the amount of up to BGN 200 per month are retained, and their annual quota is raised from BGN 1 billion to BGN 1.4 billion.
The set deficit of 3% in the budget is achievable, Vassilev claims. According to him, the political crisis, the war in Ukraine and high energy prices did not prevent Bulgarian companies from producing a sufficiently high gross domestic product and, together with the people, from paying enough taxes so that the deficit was reduced. This shows that a responsible social policy can be pursued without disrupting the country’s balance sheets, commented the finance minister. He expects a second payment under the recovery plan of BGN 1.416 billion by the end of this year, with which the deficit on a cash basis will fall to 2.5%.
A significant tightening of control is also expected from the NRA
– both in terms of declaring incomes and in terms of checks, Vassilev said. And employers will be obliged to pay their employees’ salaries only via bank transfer.
The Minister of Finance specified that businesses and regular taxpayers will not be checked unnecessarily, and tax control will be directed at non-standard companies. Customs are also expected to greatly improve the collection of VAT and excise duties on imports.
2023-06-28 20:00:00
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