The two richest Black Sea municipalities are preparing a drastic increase in local taxes and fees for 2026, which has caused a wave of discontent among the local population. Residents of Pomorie and Nessebar responded to the planned changes with petitions, court appeals and threats of mass protests, bTV reported.
In Pomorie, a 33% increase in building tax and garbage fee is planned, while in neighboring Nessebar the increase will be 22%.
Social tension is most noticeable among people with low incomes. Dimitrina Kyoseva, who lives in a 32 square meter apartment in Pomorie, expresses serious concerns about the possibility of keeping her property.
"I pay 90 leva with the discount now, with this increase after the New Year it will be about 160 leva. They will force me to sell my property in this way", shared the worried woman.
Rositsa Yaneva also estimates that her tax burden will jump by about 200 leva, which is disproportionate to her income.
"With an 8% increase in pensions, for your tax to increase by 33%, I think it is not realistic", Yaneva commented.
4,000 signatures have already been collected in Pomorie against the voted increase. The organizer of the protests, Georgi Yanchev, explained that citizens are acting on several fronts.
"We are waiting for the decision of the regional governor. In parallel, we have also filed a complaint in court, but we are ready for protest actions and will continue", Yanchev was categorical.
The mayor of Pomorie, Ivan Aleksiev, defended the unpopular measure with the argument that the levies have not been changed for a decade. He invited the protesters to an open meeting.
"We are actually updating the local taxes and fees, which have not been updated for 10 years", said Aleksiev, quoted by bTV.
The situation in Nessebar is complicated by problems with the infrastructure. Residents of the new neighborhoods are indignant that they pay high fees without adequate service. Nikoleta Kaleva points out that her garbage fee will increase dramatically.
"After they raise taxes, next year we will pay about 580 leva in tax on top of that", estimates Kaleva, who currently pays 250 leva.
Municipal councilor Nikola Peykov described the increase as "irresponsible" given the municipality's financial situation. According to him, the Nessebar Municipality expects to collect over 19 million leva from the garbage fee, and for next year it plans revenues of over 23 million leva.
"To have over 20 million leva by the end of October, according to an official report uploaded to the website, and at the same time to want an increase in any tax… "For me it is irresponsible," Peykov commented.
At the moment, the mayor of Nessebar refuses to comment on the topic, while tensions in the region continue to grow.