Value-added tax

Tax evasion may be ranging between 8 and 10 billion euros per year, according to rough calculations, and half of that could be recovered, Deputy Minister of National Economy and Finance Haris Theocharis told Skai Radio on Thursday.

The government does not plan to introduce new taxes, Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz has said, adding that the additional budget does not foresee new taxes to meet the financing need of the projected expenditures.

Many consumers are putting spending on hold this summer amid hikes in the value-added tax (VAT), buying only essential goods, daily Milliyet has reported.

Normally consumer spending increases in summer months as people buy new appliances and furniture. Weddings also give a boost to sales.

The value-added tax (VAT) on good and services have been hiked from 18 percent to 20 percent, according to a decree published in the Official Gazette.

Also, the bank insurance and transaction tax (BSMV) collected on consumer loans was increased from 10 percent to 15 percent.

Preliminary forecasts show that water pollution is not expected on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast in the next 10 days. This is what the Minister of Tourism Zaritsa Dinkova said on the National Television. The monitoring continues.

Finance Minister Asen Vassilev presented the parameters of the 2023 Budget. It is calculated based on average annual inflation of 8.7% and economic growth of 1.8%.

The deficit will be 3 percent, with capital spending severely cut from the cabinet's draft budget. The funds for the increase in pensions by 12% from July 1 have been secured, said Minister Vassilev.

Dealing with tax evasion has entered the vocabulary of the government's economic policy, at least at the level of statements of intent, after the related discussions during the pre-election period. New Minister of National Economy and Finance Kostis Hatzidakis highlighted it on Tuesday, during the ministry's handover ceremony, saying it is a form of social injustice that must be addressed.

The Ministry of Finance is preparing a draft budget in which the indicators fully meet the Maastricht criteria, that is, for entry into the Eurozone. For now, Bulgaria plans to do this in 2025.

A clearer picture is expected to emerge this week regarding the Cypriot government's course of action on the reduced value-added tax (VAT) rate on fuel and electricity, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis told Kathimerini Cyprus.

"The order to increase the price of electricity is a reflection of everything that has been happening during the last 10 months of the caretaker government". This opinion was expressed by former energy minister Alexander Nikolov on the National Television.