Parliament has finally voted to change the concept of tax on cars and trucks with a maximum weight of up to 3.5 tonnes.

The Transitional and Concluding Provisions of the Corporate Income Tax Act provide for amendments to the Local Taxes and Fees Act, which provide for the tax on vehicles to be determined by a new formula comprising two components - property and environmental.

The property component measures the power and year of production of the vehicle, and the new component - the environmental category and the pollution it causes to the environment. However, the tax increase can not be calculated precisely because the specific amount of the rate will be determined by the relevant municipal council, but it will not be more than 30%, reports Darik. 

The amendments must enter into force on 1 January 2019.

Тhe opposition made a strong announcement аgainst this tax change.

"70% of the cars in Bulgaria will be subject to a higher tax. These are the cars of the poorer Bulgarian citizens, "said Ivan Ivanov, MP from BSP. According to him, every change in tax policy must first consider the citizens who fill the treasury. "You take a serious step in the way of depriving Bulgarian citizens of the opportunity not only to buy cars but also to drive their old ones. On top of that, fuel prices are flying right up to the sky and people are protesting, "Ivanov added.

His colleague Tasko Ermenkov also criticized the government for the change. "Do not look for ways to fill in the tax because you can not do it through economy and value added, but through taxes. And through of the poor! As always - the poor pays everything! ", Said Ermenkov.
 
The United Patriot's deputy Georgi Kolev defended the changes by referring to statistics, according to which almost 700 people per year die in the country from road accidents, and thousands of people die as a result of various illnesses caused by the dirty air. According to him, everyone should support the efforts to achieve cleaner air in Bulgaria, and the one who pollutes has to pay more.

Ivelina Vassileva of GERB also referred to the alarming statistics related to the dirty air and called for decisive action for change in this direction. "We need to have a comprehensive policy on major pollutants. For Bulgaria these are domestic heating and transport. Transport is second, "she argues. In her opinion, it is not a question of self-raising money but of introducing a better standard of living and protecting human health.
 
According to the change management, since the "polluter pays" principle is introduced, the integration of which will encourage the use of clean vehicles.

The new tax rules will affect a significant proportion of car owners. According to the data, the vehicles registered in Bulgaria are over 3.6 million. Of those, up to 5 years old are only about 168,000, and cars over the age of 20 are 1.5 million.