Given the numbers we see, things are getting worse. I have already run out of adjectives with which to describe the bad budgets in recent years. However, for the next budget next year, which I also expect to be bad, I have one more word in reserve - a mess. Such a comment was made regarding the draft budget for 2026 by economist and former Deputy Prime Minister of the country Nikolay Vassilev in the studio of “Panorama“ on BNT.
Vassilev also asked who ordered to spend 50% of the gross domestic product, given that in previous years no more than 35-40 percent of GDP was spent.
“We all want to live richer than the Germans, but with this policy it won't happen“, he is confident.
According to him, Bulgaria has become significantly richer since the introduction of the currency board until today. Regarding inflation, he pointed out that prices are actually rising, but “not as much as people think“.
Nikolai Vassilev spoke out against increasing taxes and emphasized that where there are higher taxes, there is no economic growth.
In Eastern Europe, the economy is more liberalized and one of the reasons is lower taxes compared to the Western world, the economist noted.
As for the flat tax, Vassilev said that he is categorically against its abolition and added that it is, above all, a source of economic growth.
Regarding the adoption of the euro from January 1, 2026, Vassilev explained that it has nothing to do with the deficit and inflation, and the whole process consists of exchanging one currency for another.
On the topic with “Lukoil“ The former deputy prime minister expressed hope that the Burgas refinery would be acquired by a “powerful Western investor“ rather than its management being taken over by the state, which he said would be “a complete disaster“.