Taxation in the Republic of Ireland

According to Eurostat data, Bulgaria's tax-to-GDP ratio is among the lowest in the European Union. In 2023, the overall tax-to-GDP ratio for the EU, which includes the sum of taxes and net social contributions as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), was recorded at 40.0%. This figure represents a decrease from 40.7% in 2022.

EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager scored two major wins on Tuesday as Europe's top court backed her crackdown against Apple's Irish tax deal and Google's anti-competitive practices in two landmark cases.

Imposing a tax on proceeds from crypto assets and stocks is not on the government's agenda, Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek has said.

Speaking at an event organized by the International Investors' Association (YASED) in Ankara, Şimşek, however, told reporters that "a very limited" transaction fee or tax may be levied on those assets.

As the clock ticks down to midnight tonight, Bulgarians are reminded that April 30th marks the final day for filing their 2023 personal income tax returns. For those utilizing electronic services, the deadline is midnight, while those opting for paper submissions at revenue agency offices must do so by 5:30 pm.

Rough estimates of tax evasion put it at between €8-10 billion. But recent data show that tax compliance is increasing, which accounts for higher than expected revenue in the first seven months of the year.

Data also show that compliance is higher among businesses than among individuals.

The deadline for the filing of income tax returns for 2022 has been extended to July 31, following a decision by the Deputy Minister for Taxation Policy and Public Property Apostolos Vesyropoulos.

Moreover, the payment deadline for the first tax instalment remains July 31.

The Bank of Greece proposes simplification of the tax legislation and the tax system, digitization of procedures and payments, but also closer cooperation of the tax authorities of the EU member states for the detection of fraud in cross-border transactions, in order to reduce tax evasion on the VAT front.

The confusion seen on Tuesday over whether owners of uninsured vehicles should pay the 250-euro stamp duty or not came on top of the hundreds of thousands of erroneous notices sent last week to taxpayers asking them to pay for the insurance of their vehicles.

The increased taxes on corporations and households, as well as higher consumption taxes, brought the Greek economy to its knees last year, according to the definitive data for the 2016 budget that the Finance Ministry released on Tuesday.

Taxpayers have paid taxes of almost 1 billion euros using credit cards this year, reflecting the growing difficulty people face in covering their living costs.