Following two days of debates, Bulgaria’s lawmakers have finally adopted the amendment of the 2022 state budget. “The MPs exercised responsibility against the backdrop of a complicated political situation. It will be difficult, yet not impossible, to implement the state budget. We have adopted a series of anti-crises measures to help households and seniors. Businesses will also receive financial assistance to cope with the high prices of electricity”, outgoing Minister of Finance Assen Vassilev said after the adoption of the state budget revision.
As of July 1, drivers of vehicles with Bulgarian registration plates will be able to get a rebate of 13 Eurocents per liter on the pump price of A-95 gasoline, diesel without additives, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and natural gas, if they buy up to 50 liters. Pensions will increase by 10% in two steps- from July 1 and October 1. The maximum pension increases from EUR 766 to EUR 1,022.
The revenue side was increased with EUR 388 million to EUR 17.4 billion and the expenditure side was increased with EUR 300 million, from EUR 10.4 billion to EUR 10.7 billion. The government’s debt ceiling was increased from EUR 3.7 billion to EUR 5.3 billion due to expected revenues from value added tax and inflation. The amount of state guarantees for the state-owned energy companies Bulgargaz and Bulgartransgaz has also gone up.
No VAT will be levied on bread and flour. The measure will be in force until July 1, 2023.
The MPs have also approved the sum of EUR 603,000 for raising the remuneration of National Assembly staff, at the expense of savings. The lawmakers also approved additional funding to raise the salaries in various departments, including the Ministry of Interior, the education sphere, etc. The National Assembly has also increased tax reliefs for families with children. The taxable income of one of the parents will be reduced with EUR 300 on an annual basis for one underage child. For two underage children the reduction will be EUR 600.
Outgoing Minister of Finance Vassilev clarified that the MPs had approved an additional funding of EUR 388 million for anti-crisis measures. Initially, the government had proposed EUR 1 billion for anti-inflationary and anti-crisis policies.
“I very much hope that this budget will help all Bulgarians cope with the crisis and go through these difficult times a bit easier. On the one hand, this budget preserves the social component. On the other hand, it enables us to make the necessary social spending to help the most disadvantaged strata of society address the latest crises”, outgoing Finance Minister Vasilev noted.
Compiled by: Diana Tsankova
English version: Kostadin Atanasov
Photo: BGNESThere will be pilot testing of ground-based silver iodide generators for hail protection in two zones where the use of rockets is not allowed, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture Ivan Kapitanov said. At a meeting with Claude Berthet,..
The German economy has been shrinking and the government expects a decline of 0.2% of GDP. Some of the main reasons for this include unresolved structural problems related to lack of energy security, excessive bureaucracy and shortage..
After the election for parliament on 27 October, the caretaker government has to submit a draft of a budget for 2025 to parliament by the end of the month. Some economic analysts say the budget of the country for 2024 is the worst in the past decade. Holes..
In the space of 15 years, from 2005 until 2020, 75% of the farms in the country have disappeared – from 500,000 in 2005 down to 132,000 in 2020, said..
Petar Ganev , senior researcher at the Institute for Market Economics announced, for the BNR, the publication of their white paper of the Bulgarian..
In October 2024, the total business climate indicator decreased by 5.6 percentage points compared to September, dropping from 22.5% to 16.9%. The index..
+359 2 9336 661