The Bulgarian economy has been growing in the last 2 years mainly due to the growth of our defense industry. The contract with "Rheinmetall" is good news.
This was told to the Bulgarian National Radio by economist and former Deputy Minister of Finance Georgi Kadiev, a former MP from the Bulgarian Socialist Party, adding that Europe "is getting closer and closer to a war scenario and we need to prepare".
"The largest economies in Europe are not growing at the moment and this is becoming an increasingly big problem. ... Until recently, we were not a conflict zone, but we have become one. We will be forced by life to spend more on defense, which means we need more revenue. This means that we need not raise taxes, but more economy".
In the program "12+3" Georgi Kadiev commented on the topic of Budget 2026, which is to be published on October 30, pointing out that the Ministry of Finance has gotten stuck like a duck in a mud puddle and does not know which direction to take:
"They want to raise taxes because they need revenue, but they do not dare to raise them because Borisov does not give them, on the other hand Peevski tells them to spend for the state with a capital "D". This means more loans. ... My main concern is that in the draft budget there is a first point that says that expenditures should be raised from 40% of GDP to 45% of GDP. Our tax system traditionally produces from about 37 to a maximum of 39% of GDP revenue. And we have always strived for spending to be up to 40%, in order to have a budget deficit of around zero or 1%. If we reach 45%, that means a deficit of 6%, regardless of whether taxes will be raised, because that does not necessarily mean new revenues. Boyko Borisov said that there will be no tax increases, the BSP says the opposite. We will see what happens. ... I do not see any incentives for the economy in either the GERB or BSP proposals, anything that would make it move".
What is the point of paying more tax, knowing that half of what I pay will be stolen, he emphasized and added:
"Corruption is at appalling levels. I do not see any point in paying more taxes to feed this corruption. Until the moment when there is no system that guarantees that more taxes mean more social benefits, and there is no such system, why should we pay them?".
According to Kadiev, we are waiting for a fake budget with a 3% deficit, which "everyone knows will not be fulfilled".
According to him, next year will be very difficult.