Draft tax law to be tabled this week

After a long wait, the new tax bill is expected to be presented in Parliament this week before being put to a vote. It includes numerous clauses aimed at dealing with a variety of outstanding issues.

The omnibus bill will provide for a reduction in fines, offsetting taxpayers’ debts to the state with the state’s own debts to them, an increase in the minimum level of salaries and pensions that can be confiscated, certain corrections regarding the abolition of the withholding of 20 percent of royalties, and changes to indirect inspection techniques to speed up the monitoring of money forwarding.

The government and the technical team of experts from the country’s creditors still haven’t reached an agreement on the contentious issue of the capital gains tax, which has frozen the local property market. However, it appears the government has made its own decision. The tax will be calculated according to the actual sale prices recorded on contracts, rather than based on the so-called objective values, which in many cases are significantly higher, while properties acquired before 1994 will be exempted from the capital gains tax.