Bulgaria's Socialist-Backed Govt: Deposit Tax Here to Stay

Business » FINANCE | September 24, 2013, Tuesday // 18:18
Bulgaria: Bulgaria's Socialist-Backed Govt: Deposit Tax Here to Stay Economists and the central bank have slammed the decision to introduce a 10% tax on bank deposit income, saying this would dent people's savings and shake the bank system foundations due to capital outflow. Photo by Sofia Photo Agency

Bulgaria's Socialist-led government has given up on plans to annul what it initially slammed as "unfair" 10% levy on people's interest earned from bank deposits.

"The deposit tax is here to stay. We rely on it for raising BGN 90 M of revenues to be invested in the education sector in 2014," Finance Minister Petar Chobanov told reporters on Tuesday.

The tax was proposed at the end of last year by former Finance Minister in the Cabinet of the Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria party, GERB, Simeon Djankov, and was slammed by the then opposition, including BSP, who voiced concerns that the new tax will affect mainly people with small savings and retirees.

The controversial 10% levy on interest earned from bank deposits came into force in Bulgaria on January 1, 2013.

It obliges Bulgarians to include the income on bank deposits in their tax declarations a year later – in 2014 – after the taxation process is streamlined.

The so-called termless deposits, saving accounts, child savings and current accounts are not taxed.

The banks are responsible for declaring the tax while only those who file written declarations with the National Revenue Agency, NRA, will be mandated to file declarations on tax from deposits. Taxation on interest earned from deposits is done at the time it is paid, even if the account was opened in 2013.

Economists and the central bank opposed the decision to introduce a 10% tax on bank deposit income, saying this would dent people's savings and shake the bank system foundations due to capital outflow.

The GERB government insisted the new tax aims to raise BGN 120 M and force richer people to pay taxes on the income they earn from bank deposits.

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Tags: tax, GERB. BSP, Council of Ministers, draft budget, Bulgarian National Bank, bank deposits, interest, Simeon Djankov, finance minister, banks, Bulgaria, GERB, Retirement, youth unemployment

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