Dividend

Bulgaria has received a record low dividend from its state-owned companies this year, it was revealed on Thursday.

Reasons include worsened financial performance of state-owned firms and a cut in the dividend rate to 70% from 80%, capital.bg said on Thursday, citing Finance Ministry figures.

More than 120,000 households were expected to receive a share of over 84 million euros from the so-called social dividend on Tuesday, the Finance Ministry announced.

The social dividend refers to a share of the primary budget surplus that has been earmarked to help households in need and is distributed to applicants based on their tax declarations.

Following the government’s decision to expand the income criteria for recipents of the so-called social dividend, another 250,000 will next week receive the one-off payment made to those deemed to be in the greatest need. The social dividend is funded by the primary surplus of the 2013 budget.

Monday marks the deadline for Greeks who believe they meet the criteria for receiving a share of the country’s 2013 primary surplus, the so-called «social dividend» to submit their applications.

Two SYRIZA deputies have called for a deadline extension with regard to income tax declarations for 2013. The scheduled deadline is currently June 30.

Bulgaria's Government demanded urgent payments of dividends from the companies with over 50% state ownership, reports Sega daily. 

With an order of June 11 the Council of Ministers demanded 70% of the profits to be paid to the shareholders by today, June 16. The state-owned hospitals are exempt. 

By Vangelis Mandravelis

The government announced on Wednesday that it plans to start handing out vouchers to people on low incomes to purchase computers and pay for Internet connections.

By Prokopis Hatzinikolaou

The income criteria for the distribution of the so-called social dividend  – i.e. the share of the primary budget surplus to be handed out to households in need – are expanding to an additional 300,000 families.

A committee assigned to assess whether taxpayers are eligible for a share of the so-called “social dividend” from Greece’s 2013 primary surplus is due to meet this week.

The government has already paid out 133 million euros, with each successful applicant earning around 500 euros.

The head of the Finance Ministry's General Secretariat for State Revenues, Haris Theoharis, warned on Friday that those submitting bogus data in a bid to qualify for a portion of the so-called social dividend, coming from Greece's primary surplus, would face criminal charges.