Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has declared that he firmly supports the 10% tax on interests of bank deposits proposed by his ruling centrist-right GERB.

Borisov has told reporters that those who have "a lot of money" deposited in banks. He said that the measure would allow the government to increase retirement pensions in 2013.

"Such a tax exists in the whole of Europe," he claimed.

At the beginning of this week, the Bulgarian government proposed a new 10% tax on interests of bank deposits that would come into force from next year.

Bulgarians will be obliged to include the income on bank deposits in their tax declarations a year later – in 2014 – after the taxation process is streamlined, the finance ministry has suggested.

Both economists and the central bank have slammed the government's 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.