The tax system is at the root of inequality in Bulgaria, while keeping the flat tax makes it more difficult to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor. This was stated by former Social Affairs Minister Hasan Ademov on bTV’s “This Saturday and Sunday” program. In his words, if political formations want change, they must present it to voters before parliamentary elections.
“The tax system is at the root of inequality,” Ademov said, clarifying that the flat tax is not the only reason for income disparities.
Criticism of the Amendments Concerning Personal Assistants
Ademov also commented on the withdrawn amendments to the Personal Assistance Act. They sparked public discontent and threats of protests by mothers of children with disabilities. The ombudsman has received 800 complaints on the matter.
According to the former social affairs minister, the proposals were introduced without public discussion or an impact assessment. One of the amendments provides for the amount of personal assistants’ remuneration to be determined each year by the State Budget Act, instead of linking the hourly rate to the minimum wage.
According to Ademov, this removes the sustainable mechanism and creates uncertainty for assistants, parents of children with disabilities and relatives who perform this work. “They have no security this way. And no predictability,” he said.
The removal of the employment contract has also been proposed. The governing parties’ argument is that this would allow civil servants and self-employed people to work as personal assistants. Ademov, however, pointed out that mothers of children with disabilities are often engaged in caregiving around the clock and have no real opportunity to work elsewhere.
A More Transparent Procedure
Ademov believes that the bill should be submitted by the Council of Ministers so that it can undergo one month of public discussion, as well as review by the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation and the National Council for Persons with Disabilities. According to him, the chair of the parliamentary social affairs committee can also request opinions from the stakeholders.
He emphasized that Bulgaria has ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and that decisions concerning them should not be made without their participation. One of the ideas under discussion is a special status for mothers of children with disabilities, but according to Ademov, the priority should be guaranteeing independent living and a better quality of life for people with disabilities.
880,000 TELK and NELK Decisions
On the subject of fraudulent TELK decisions, Ademov pointed out that publicly available information refers to approximately 880,000 expert decisions issued by TELK and NELK. Slightly less than half of those affected, or more than 400,000 people, receive disability pensions. The rest have a determined percentage of disability and may receive additional financial support under the People with Disabilities Act.
Ademov said that a digital connection between TELK and medical institutions could strengthen oversight of medical documents. He also supported discussion of the ICF system, which assesses not only lost work capacity but also what a person can do despite their disability.
According to him, quantitative indicators are important but cannot be the sole criterion for assessing social policy. As examples, he cited the 880,000 TELK and NELK decisions and the €777 million allocated for personal assistants.