Grey Economy in Bulgaria Shrank by 3% in 10 Years - Survey

The share of the grey economy in Bulgaria is shrinking but the pace is unsatisfactory, according to a survey of the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) supported by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Sofia.

According to the study, as cited by money.bg, Bulgaria is one of the 24 countries, out of a total of 59, where the share of the grey economy drops, but at the same time it ranks at the bottom of the competitiveness ranking.

The survey indicates a substantial reduction in the number of people working without employment contracts over the past 10 years from a level of 6% in 2003 to 3% in 2012.

Labor relations of people with a second job also became increasingly legal.

In 2003, a total of 77.44% of the people earning extra income failed to report it, while in 2012 the share was 29%.

According to Martin Tsanov from the CSD, a good measure adopted against the grey economy in the country was the mandatory connection of cash registers to the database of the National Revenue Agency (NRA) which led to increased VAT collection as a result of the higher declared turnovers.

Bulgaria's customs also registered improvements in the organization of their work, which resulted in increased revenues.

The index of unreported economic activity dropped from nearly 3.9% in 2002 to around 2.5% in 201, the main reason being the reduction in indices related to covert turnovers and employment relations.

According to the survey, another main reason for the reduced share of the grey economy is that many businesses started operating with EU projects where the accountability requirements are very high.