The budget talks are going productively, said to the Bulgarian National Radio, MP from "Progressive Bulgaria" Stefan Belchev, who is the chairman of the economic committee in the National Assembly.
The main goal of the changes, at least in the revenue part, is to achieve fiscal justice without affecting the foundation of the tax system, he pointed out and explained: "We are maintaining the flat corporate tax, as well as the personal income tax. With regard to this temporary solidarity contribution of 33% - this is the so-called tax on excess profits for banks, insurers, telecoms, large retail chains - this is an extraordinary, but for us, imperative measure to balance the budget. We all want to see a reduction in this deficit and the expected additional revenues will help guarantee this financial stability".
This tax is of an extraordinary nature, Belchev emphasized and specified that the measure will be in effect until the end of 2026: "The goal of this one-year solidarity tax is to stabilize the revenue side of the budget after the accumulated inherited deficits - to provide some clear and clean starting position for the 2027 budget".
The MP from the Bulgarian People's Party noted that their intentions are to provide the funds that have been requested by each municipality. And he stated categorically that there will be no privileged ones, as, in his words, has been the case so far.
Stefan Belchev pointed out that the relationship between the gambling sector and politics, especially in the past, is a rather acute problem. According to him, it can only be solved through some institutional transparency, and not through noisy slogans: "We do not support populist measures that would anyway push this sector, which exists and will exist anyway, into the gray sector and the shadow economy. Our solution is strict regulation and tightening of financial control, because ultimately we all realize that something that is written in law, when there is no clear and strict control, remains only on paper. A key element in the changes is an additional mechanism for blocking illegal payments through the BNB to unlicensed gambling platforms, including those that operate with cryptocurrencies. In order to dispel any doubts about addiction, we propose a clear legal regulation, such that the revenues from fees in the sector are both targeted and equally distributed between several pillars that concern youth activities, sports, education, and healthcare. When the money goes directly to such socially beneficial causes, the subjective political factor is eliminated".
"We are absolutely convinced that things with gambling must change. We are not afraid of difficulties and I believe that we will bring this whole process to a positive end. Gambling, as well as some of the consumer loans, are truly a scourge for society, especially for the poorer social strata", he added.
Regarding the issue of fuel and the CPC inspections of "Lukoil", Belchev noted: "We have no sympathy for either Russian or other owners. On the contrary, we should somehow still be satisfied and happy that we have a refinery in Bulgaria that is working. When fuel prices exceeded the psychological levels of our market, the state, in my opinion, reacted in a timely manner to control this inflationary pressure on business and citizens. That is why the parliament last week approved the zero excise tax until the end of 2026 for methane, natural gas, as well as liquefied petroleum gas propane-butane, which will be used as motor fuel.
According to him, the refinery in Burgas is currently producing quantities that significantly exceed the country's domestic consumption. According to him, artificially blocking this export created a risk of overflowing warehouses and a technological halt to the production process: "Domestic consumption in Bulgaria is fully guaranteed and the export of surpluses will in no way increase the price of diesel and gasoline in our country".
According to him, however, nothing is certain yet and one can also think about expanding the scope of businesses affected by this tax.
At the same time, we are expanding social buffers, the MP emphasized and listed the provisions in this regard, such as food vouchers and tax breaks for families with children.
"During the budget debate, unfortunately, there is a, to put it mildly, strange political attack from a body that is least expected to be part of political life, namely the BNB. I do not think that a regulator, when it comes out of an expert tone against such fiscal measures of the state - I do not think that this is already an economic debate, but an attempt to protect perhaps some other interests, but our duty in the National Assembly is to protect the public interest and fiscal stability of the entire state, and not just the banking sector,", commented Stefan Belchev.
In his words, the 2027 Budget is being prepared in conditions of increased fiscal control, even by the European Commission: "We will try to step on a clean and predictable basis. Our main priority is to permanently reduce the deficit to exactly 3% of the Gross Domestic Product. The initial baseline forecasts of the Ministry of Finance from the summer still indicated a deficit of 3.8 for next year, i.e. we see an achievement. This is exactly where the role of our financial discipline and this new package of revenue measures lies, in order to reduce this deficit without shock to citizens and without reducing incomes.