In three years we may pay twice as much for property transactions, without officially increasing tax rates. This was stated in the program “Face to Face“ on bTV by economist Stoyan Panchev.
In his words, this is a continuation of a policy that has been observed since the beginning of the current cabinet.
“Without increasing rates, we are increasing revenue in the treasury. The tax base, the tax base is becoming larger. For the same rates, we have more revenue in the treasury“, commented Panchev.
He defined as a valid argument that taxes on property transactions have not been changed since 2007. According to him, however, increasing the tax base will in practice lead to higher payments.
Panchev also commented on the planned changes in the regulation of quick loans.
According to him, the current law on consumer credit has not worked well enough since its adoption in 2014.
“On paper, it seems very restrictive, one that manages to protect the interests of consumers, of the people who take out these loans. But in fact, it creates very unpleasant incentives for companies that provide credit,“ he explained.
According to him, some of the large Western companies have left the Bulgarian market, because under the current regulation they can hardly make a profit.
According to Panchev, companies have several options left – to leave the market, to give up on certain segments or to start circumventing the rules.
“There are some companies that operate in the gray sector, maybe even more obscurely, use some slightly worse methods to collect their receivables and so on“, said the economist.
He considered it a good idea to increase the capital requirements for companies for quick loans, but stressed that a balance must be found.
According to him, consumer protection should start with greater clarity in contracts.
“There are huge problems with people not reading and understanding what is written in their contracts“, he pointed out. According to him, the conditions should be presented in an understandable manner, and the formulas for calculating the costs of the loan should be simplified.
Panchev also commented on high inflation and expectations for interest rate movements.