Bulgaria’s Ministry of Finance has decided to abandon the proposed tax on subsoil resources, according to Acting Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Lyudmila Petkova. During a parliamentary blitz control, Petkova explained that the Minister of Energy would increase concession fees to compensate, at least partially, for the anticipated revenue loss. Additionally, a one-time fee will be introduced for mining companies, and part of the revenues will be derived from Bulgaria’s expected accession to Schengen.

Petkova also assured that the draft budget for 2024 has sufficient funds allocated for municipal projects. She emphasized that the sequence of submitted projects would not affect their funding, and municipalities that fulfill all necessary requirements would receive financial support.

The issue of the current year’s budget implementation was also raised, specifically regarding the target of maintaining a 3% deficit. Petkova reaffirmed that despite unexpected expenditures, such as those for elections and assistance to farmers affected by imports from Ukraine, the government would meet the deficit goal. She further noted that tax revenues for the year are expected to exceed forecasts.

Looking ahead to 2025, Petkova confirmed that an increase in national debt is planned to bolster the capital of the Bank for Reconstruction and Development and, if necessary, the Bulgarian National Bank.

Although the budget for 2024 has been adopted by the Council of Ministers, it has yet to be submitted to the parliamentary registry for final approval due to revisions. The revised budget includes a record revenue forecast of over 92 billion leva, with an anticipated deficit of 6.4 billion leva, representing 3% of the total. The government has based its calculations on a projected economic growth rate of 2.8% and an inflation estimate of 2.4%.

However, the Ministry of Finance reported a shortfall of 3 billion leva in revenue due to unspent funds from the Recovery and Resilience Plan. Petkova explained that although 75 billion leva in revenue was initially projected for 2024, the actual revenue would fall short by this amount by year-end. Despite this, tax revenues are expected to exceed 100%, and the shortfall will not affect the overall budget balance, although it will impact planned investments financed through the Plan.

Sources:

• News.bg
• Bulgarian National Television (BNT)