For people, whether we are talking about taxes or social security is almost irrelevant. What is important is what remains in the pocket after them. Most often, the minuses in the payslip are called deductions, and the real question is what income is left for daily expenses.
Ralitsa Intulova from Montana works in a furniture factory and admits that the current deductions are significant, and there is no guarantee of a decent pension in the future. “In relation to salaries, a lot - 22 percent goes somewhere where people don't see. What they take from us at the moment goes to the current pensions, which are not enough for pensioners. Not to mention us in 25-30 years - they just get lost somewhere along the way“, she shares.
The big question now is how the candidates for the next parliament plan changes in taxes and social security. The answers were collected by Nova TV:
BSP proposes replacing the flat income tax with a progressive one - the higher the salary, the higher the tax to be paid. Pension insurance should be paid on the entire salary, while health insurance should be preserved, but how the funds are spent should be controlled. Profit tax for small businesses remains, and for large multinational companies - it should be increased. According to the BSP, the minimum wage should be non-taxable, and the maximum social security threshold for pensions should be gradually eliminated.
„Millionaires who receive high incomes should pay more. "There will be more money left for the average salary at the end of the month if we apply a non-taxable minimum," Atanas Atanasov from the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) points out.
„Vazrazhdane“ also insists on progressive income taxation, but with a difference in the scale from 0 to 20%. Pension insurance should have no maximum threshold, health insurance should not change and should not be directed to private hospitals. Small businesses should switch to a patent tax, and the threshold for VAT registration should be increased in order to reduce the burden on end consumers. „The minimum wage will not be taxed, and for healthcare we should simply stop the flow of public funds“, explains Tsoncho Ganev.
PP-DB and GERB defend the flat tax and refuse to increase pension and health insurance. According to them, the tax and social security burden is sufficient, and the focus should be on increasing collection and controlling costs. The threshold for VAT registration should be increased to facilitate small business and stimulate investment. “Raising taxes would repel investors and reduce growth, while reforming the expenditure side would allow for more revenue for the budget and higher pensions“, commented Martin Dimitrov from PP-DB.
“Progressive Bulgaria” emphasizes that changing the social security burden would harm business and people, and changing the flat tax would lead to a loss of trust in institutions and an increase in the shadow economy. “A strong welfare state comes from a strong economy, not from raising social security contributions“, says Alexander Pulev.
For working people like Ralitsa Intulova, elections are a way to tell politicians in which direction the country should go. “I hope there will be change for Bulgaria, for our people and for our children“, she shares.