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Datsov: The budget will explode sooner or later. The big question is, are we going to actually raise taxes

Nobody wants to admit that the Recovery Plan money has been written off, the financier pointed out, asking who guarantees that a regular government will be better than a caretaker one

Nov 26, 2024 21:33 59

Datsov: The budget will explode sooner or later. The big question is, are we going to actually raise taxes  - 1

"Every day things look different and the obstacles to entering the Eurozone are getting bigger. Added to inflation is a budget for which there is no good solution. Even entering the 3 percent, the price to pay has its impact. There is no tax that can be raised and not affect inflation," said the financier and former deputy minister Lyubomir Datsov in the program "The Day ON AIR".

We must not overheat the economy
Even if you have to cut costs, you will further strain the economy. The result for next year does not look good, according to the guest.

Commenting on the salaries of the military, Datsov pointed out that from the point of view of economy and army per capita, we have better salaries than the American army.
"There, the money goes to training, development of technology, investments in defense, in science. We must not take steps towards a policy that will lead to the deepening of the problems. This happened because of some 300 thousand who evaporated from the labor market in Bulgaria in the last 10 years. Between 200 and 300 thousand people neither work, they are absolutely anonymous. At the moment there are really no people", the financier explained to Bulgaria ON AIR.

The year 2025 is uncertain and fraught with risks, he pointed out.
"For next year, it is realistic to expect about 7 billion. BGN income, and that is if the rates are equalized. 9 billion BGN would be obtained by raising various taxes. The equalization of the rate automatically enters by law. It doesn't matter if the hole is exactly 18 billion. BGN The problem is real. The deficit is between 5 and 6%," Datsov stressed.

No one wants to admit that the money under the Recovery Plan has been written off, the financier pointed out and asked who guarantees that a regular government will be better than a caretaker one.
"The budget in the last 20 years was balanced at the level of about 38% of the GDP size of public expenditures. It is currently balanced at levels between 40.5% and 41% of GDP. The budget will explode sooner or later. The big question is whether we are headed for a real long-term tax hike. I would not recommend any party to go to such a decision", Datsov also stated.

In his words, salaries in GDP have a share between 40 and 50% - we are like the European countries. However, with low labor, we grow by 200%, while competitive markets grow by 3%.

"The labor market needs an overhaul. We can't even attract an investor, we have nothing to offer him," Datsov pointed out.