Leva

Sofia Municipality plans to raise the tourist tax starting next year, pending approval from the Sofia Municipal Council. This increase comes after the tax rate remained unchanged for over a decade, according to Deputy Mayor for Tourism Nikola Barbutov.

At the end of October, Bulgarian voters will head to the polls once again, this time to elect Members of Parliament for the 51st National Assembly. This marks the seventh consecutive parliamentary election, with six being early elections.

The Bulgarian Association of Travel Agencies estimates that between 300,000 and 340,000 Bulgarians will travel both domestically and internationally during the upcoming two long weekends in September. Greece remains the top choice for travelers, with bus trips priced between 330 and 790 leva already sold out, and air packages ranging from 800 to 1,250 leva for stays of 4 to 6 nights.

The Bulgarian government has proposed raising the minimum wage to  1,077 leva (550 euros) starting January 1, 2025. This proposal is outlined in a draft decree by the Council of Ministers, which has been published for public discussion until September 26.

During the first six months following Bulgaria's adoption of the euro, "Bulgarian Posts" will offer free exchange of banknotes and coins from levs to euros at the official exchange rate, with a daily limit of 1,000 leva per person. For exchanges between 1,000 leva and 10,000 leva, customers will need to submit a request 3 to 5 working days in advance, but only at designated post offices.

By the end of July, Bulgaria reached a new record for the value of money in circulation, according to data from the Bulgarian National Bank. The total amount of banknotes in circulation hit a historic high of 29.168 billion leva, surpassing the previous record set at the end of last year by more than 342 million leva.

The Bulgarian National Bank has reported a rise in counterfeit 100 leva bills, according to statistics released on its website. In the second quarter of the year, there were 230 fake 100 leva notes identified and confiscated.

Bulgarian police, prosecutors, and Anti-Corruption Commission officials have entered properties linked to businessman Rumen Gaitanski, also known as "The Wolf" (Valka), as reported by BNT. The investigation centers around a loan provided by the state-owned Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) to a company associated with Gaitanski.

Rumen Gaitanski, known as "the Wolf" (Valka), is currently under investigation, with his property being searched, as reported by BNT. This operation involves prosecutors, officials from the Anti-Corruption Commission, and police officers, and is related to a probe into a loan provided to Gaitanski's company by the Bulgarian Development Bank.

The Budget Committee has approved both bills submitted by the Council of Ministers for the introduction of the euro and the Law on Credit Institutions. To address the unstable political situation and the risk of early elections, the committee decided to grant a mandate to the Ministry of Finance.