Fire Claims Lives of Four Bulgarians in Germany
A devastating fire in the German town of Solingen has resulted in the tragic loss of four Bulgarian citizens of Turkish origin, including two children
HOT: » Assessing the Legacy of Bulgaria's "Denkov" Cabinet: Achievements, Failures, and What Comes Next
Rumyana Dencheva and Vesselin Zhelev
Waz. euobserver.com
Tax authorities in Sofia are planning to look into the Swiss bank accounts of an unspecified number of Bulgarians whom they suspect of tax evasion, an official said.
Germany, which recently purchased from undisclosed sources the Swiss bank details of suspected tax dodgers, has tipped off Bulgarian fiscal authorities to Bulgarian names in the database, National Revenue Agency (NRA) chief Krasimir Stefanov told the daily, 24 Chasa. The amount is said to be worth around €200 million.
"Since there is information about Bulgarian deposits in Switzerland, the NRA will carry out inspections and audits for tax evasion about everyone whom we have information of," he said.
Mr Stefanov stopped short of naming or disclosing the number of the suspects. He said the amounts on their Swiss accounts would be compared to the wealth they have declared in Bulgaria and the taxes they have paid.
It was not clear whether Bulgaria has already received the information in question and whether it was going to pay for it. Mr Stefanov said his agency agreed to automatically provide the German tax authorities with data on the revenues of German nationals in Bulgaria.
Failure to declare one's income and tax evasion are punishable by up to six years in prison in Bulgaria. Voluntary admission of the offence may not result in a more lenient treatment.
In contrast to Germany, where a string of tax dodgers have recanted and paid their taxes in a bid to escape prosecution, there has been no such cases in Bulgaria yet.
Bulgaria, which is under EU pressure to eradicate corruption and organised crime, has officially asked Germany for information on for Bulgarian names in the tax evaders database it obtained from Switzerland.
We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!
Brazen Bulgarian gangs "terrorise the elderly and rob them over their life savings with increasingly aggressive phone scams nettling millions of euros," according to an AFP story.
The prospect of US President Donald Trump's moving closer to Russia has scrambled the strategy of "balancing East and West" used for decades by countries like Bulgaria, the New York Times says.
Bulgarians have benefited a lot from their EU membership, with incomes rising and Brussels overseeing politicians, according to a New York Times piece.
German businesses prefer to trade with Bulgaria rather than invest into the country, an article on DW Bulgaria's website argues.
The truth about Bulgaria and Moldova's presidential elections is "more complicated" and should not be reduced to pro-Russian candidates winning, the Economist says.
President-elect Rumen Radev "struck a chord with voters by attacking the status quo and stressing issues like national security and migration," AFP agency writes after the presidential vote on Sunday.
UN Happiness Report: Bulgaria's Astonishing Leap in Rankings
Bulgaria: 3 Regions With Lowest Life Expectancy - EU Report 2022