The 2026 budget is not good. Our claims are regarding the double increase in the tax on dividends and the two percent increase in social security contributions. This was said in an interview with bTV by Tsvetan Simeonov, Chairman of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI).
When asked whether the state budget for next year could be more successful than the current one, he replied: “We have tried to make a proposal. From all four employer organizations. And despite the short deadlines. They were totally neglected in the budget review process.
According to him, the business community proposed that the 2026 budget talks begin in September, but the institutions have been silent for more than two months. “There are 12 pages of proposals that we have provided with calculations and details that can easily replace the revenues in the budget. Some of them are for savings, some for partial savings”, Simeonov noted.
He expressed dissatisfaction with the different treatment of those working in the real sector compared to civil servants. Tsvetan Simeonov pointed out that about 99,000 civil servants do not pay social security contributions, which damages the budget by nearly half a billion leva annually.
“Instead, salaries in the budget sector will increase in double digits, which is unacceptable given that business is extremely busy. "The most serious challenge and concern in Europe and here is the increase in wage costs. And it is a natural result of the labor shortage," explained the BCCI chairman.