"Each sector, when placed in a more extreme situation, creates similar threats. When the VAT rate was reduced - this 20% did not reduce the price of flour and bread. They became cheaper by no more than 5-6 percent. And then they slowly recovered from the general inflation".
This is what KNSB President Plamen Dimitrov said to NOVA in a comment on the hot topics: will the price of bread rise, will wages be raised, and will pensions increase.
"It is not correct to claim that because the VAT will eventually be returned, we should raise the price of bread by 20 percent. It's actually the business that benefits, not the consumer. The goal was for people to be able to get lower prices," commented the trade unionist on the warnings of bread producers that if the zero rate is abolished, bread will become more expensive," continued Dimitrov.
In his words, the argument that "returning rates to their pre-pandemic levels will force them to go into the gray sector and not pay taxes" is unacceptable to him.
"What does it mean they will go into the gray area? This is illegal. For non-compliance with the laws - there is a criminal sanction. I don't like paying taxes either. I also don't like that when I go to the restaurant, something has become more expensive. If I want, I go and pay. If not, I stay at home. When it comes to essential goods, this obviously cannot be done. And they must certainly be very carefully cared for," Dimitrov is emphatic.
He explained that some of the tax measures "that were announced by the Ministry of Finance - are good". "They don't raise taxes. At the same time, they enable a greater collection. And as we say more money, more money from the right places. Which is better? Return VAT rates to the same for all? Or raise the general rate by 2.5%, as some economists have suggested. I don't think we are moving the rates, but the opposite.
To the question "will there be a Budget 2025", he answered: "If the planned legislative measures to increase incomes are not implemented - people in the budget spheres who have not received an increase for years will be on the street." And we will lead them", Dimitrov is categorical.