The rich and the poor cannot pay the same taxes –

/ world today news/ It is necessary to change the policy and the status quo, which imposes a right-wing model to the detriment of Bulgarian citizens

“We will re-submit our proposal to change personal income taxation, asking for progressive taxation because it is much fairer. The rich and the poor cannot pay the same taxes. We are betting on one more element – in the case of family income taxation, we provide assistance for the first, second and third child”. This was stated by the chairman of the BSP, Mihail Mikov, on Channel 3. He was adamant that the BSP is doing all this so that Bulgaria can have it, so that the welfare state can have it. “Can’t we, after giving billions for highways, give 20-30 million for Bulgarian mothers with children, and that against the background of the demographic catastrophe in our country? According to the authorities, it is clearly not possible”, the leader of the socialists was categorical and added that probably the policy of the authorities is such because highways bring commissions, unlike child benefits.

Mihail Mikov recalled that the rulers recently again rejected the proposal of the BSP to equalize the aid for raising a child from 1 to 2 years old with the minimum wage. “Not only that – the rulers took 10% of their income from the working poor, or BGN 408 from every poor Bulgarian. Now they also take away from the means of raising a child. The bill proposed by us, with which we wanted to abolish VAT on children’s food, was also rejected. But by not supporting us, the rulers are not actually supporting the people who are trying to survive”, the chairman of the BSP was categorical.

The leader of the socialists also said that thanks to the management of GERB and their coalition, we no longer live in a state of law. “The demographic catastrophe is terrible. Our population is decreasing by about 40,000 per year, and what will happen in our country in 10-15 years?” Mikov asked. He was adamant that the left does not agree with this, and on the initiative of the BSP, the government adopted short-term measures to deal with the problem last year.

Mikov expressed the opinion that people no longer believe that GERD can give a prospect for a normal life in Bulgaria. He added: “This policy of GERB and the rulers will lead to early parliamentary elections.” The chairman of the BSP also emphasized the problems in the coalition, where the contradictions also lead in the direction of an early vote. “I also recall their retirement policy. People say that they have no chance to retire, that there is no work, and the prices of medicines are high – they are afraid that they will receive their first pension at all”, explained Mihail Mikov.

“That’s why the BSP is a very active opposition, because it fights for a better life for the common man. It is no coincidence that it was the left that asked the president to convene the CSNS on the demographic problem, because it has already turned into a catastrophe”, explained the leader of the socialists and was categorical that nothing that was promised by the rulers was achieved. “Look at what happened in health care – the obligations in the system are increasing, and they are being paid by the people. This is part of the understanding of the right – increasing the share of private hospitals and their financing by the state, at the expense of the state ones. How does it happen that the private ones always make a profit, and the state ones always make a loss?” asked Mikov. He explained that the state hospitals are those that are managed by the Minister of Health, Moscow. “And where is his responsibility here? Or maybe, the public hospitals are driven to bankruptcy so that the private ones can function, at the expense of the public ones, or so that the public ones can privatize them and become private again? But health is not a commodity, and those who have to deal with Minister Moscow’s health care system understand it best,” said the leader of the socialists.

“It is necessary to change the policy, to change the status quo, which for years has been offering a neoliberal, right-wing model of governance that is in favor of 1% of the population and is to the detriment of the majority of Bulgarian citizens,” Mikov was emphatic. He believes that the Prime Minister’s policy is not the right path for our country. “The right path is in a fair distribution, the stimulation of economic activity, a more balanced foreign policy, which would give us the opportunity to turn to countries with which we have traditionally had good relations, such as Russia, for example,” Mikov believes.

Mihail Mikov was also asked about the race for the BSP chairmanship. “The most important thing in this competition are the policies that we will offer to the citizens to get out of the deep crisis into which the rulers, headed by GERB, got us,” he commented. According to him, the BSP was able to participate in the administration and after the last parliamentary elections, it had such an official invitation. But coming to power at any cost was never an end in itself. “A year ago, we had the opportunity to participate in governance together with GERB, but the Executive Bureau and the National Council of the Left, as well as myself, preferred to remain in the opposition and win the trust of the people. However, there are circles in our party that profess a different thesis – they have aimed precisely at the management of the state”, said Mikhail Mikov.