Debit card

Every day from late June, 50 lucky Greek shoppers who use their credit or debit cards for payments at stores across the country will win credit for future purchases, as the Finance Ministry tries to contain the drop in tax revenues by adding to the incentives to make consumers ask for receipts.

The government is working on regulations to tighten control over foreign exchange offices, Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Şimşek has said.

"With the regulations, we will more effectively inspect foreign exchange offices, improve their transparency, financial infrastructure and credibility," Şimşek told Anadolu Agency. 

Plumbers, electricians, bars, restaurants and cafeterias are among the professional groups that will be forced to install card terminals and start accepting credit and debit card payments by the end of June.

The Finance Ministry has finally issued a list detailing the types of electronic spending - credit and debit cards, e-banking and money forwarding - that will count toward the income tax discount granted to most taxpayers as of this year.

Banks are raising their estimates for plastic money transactions in 2017 to 20 billion euros, compared to an estimate for 2016 of 15 billion euros. This concerns transactions made by Greeks using debit and credit cards and not including those by foreign visitors, which would raise the sum for this year to 17 billion.

The multi-bill that the Finance Ministry tabled at midnight on Monday is aimed at containing value-added tax evasion - which amounts to 6.5 billion euros per annum - through tax-related incentives for electronic transactions, and at making taxpayers reveal any hidden incomes.

Only taxpayers who make payments by credit and debit card will be entitled to claim a tax-free threshold as of next year, according to a bill the Finance Ministry tabled in Parliament midnight on Monday. However, there will be an exception for pensioners, who will be gradually introduced to the obligatory use of cards for the tax discount.

The use of credit cards in Bulgaria is becoming more widely spread, showed an analysis of one of the largest banks in Bulgaria.

Experts estimate a nearly 60% growth in the number of credit cards issued in 2015 and 2016, compared to 2014.

Taxpayers can stop collecting the receipts for retail purchases and throw away all those they have collected to date, as they will not count toward this year's tax-free allowance.

Nearly BGN 4 B have been spent with Bulgarian bank cards in 2015, showed the latest survey of a large card company.