The Ministry of Finance gives up the tax on the excess profits of banks, said the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Lyudmila Petkova at the extraordinary meeting of the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation, where next year's budget is being discussed.
"Last week there was a meeting with representatives of the banks, where they announced that all the banks will pay, etc. called "global tax" of 15 percent. We received information that they will pay 1.123 billion. BGN in 2025, which is a significant increase on their taxes from this year. For this reason, since the Ministry of Finance did not have this information, we gave up the tax on excess profits, because it will be more than twice as high as the one paid in 2024", she explained, quoted by BTA.
Petkova also announced that the tax-insurance measures will raise revenues by 8.7 billion. leva.
The greatest effect on revenues comes from the tax amnesties, for which the European Commission has been notified, said Petkova. This measure is one-time, but it will provide both revenue in the budget and help businesses, because liabilities have accumulated after the Covid pandemic, Minister Petkova said. In order for these measures to be implemented, they must be accompanied by credit instruments through the Bulgarian Development Bank and other banks, she pointed out.
Three VAT-related measures are also proposed. The first is about the threshold for company registration. In our opinion, it should remain BGN 100,000 in order not to create unfair competition, said Petkova.
The other measures are to raise the now reduced VAT rates from 9 to 20 percent for restaurateurs and gyms, and drop the zero rate for bread. They were introduced as temporary measures due to the Covid pandemic.
We believe that the 9 percent rate did not affect prices, but they gradually and significantly increased, said Petkova.
Regarding the tax on underground resources, I got the impression that there are no problems, but that does not mean that the talks cannot continue and that the measures do not hinder business and create social tension, the finance minister said. Before the NSTS meeting, there was a protest of miners' trade unions in front of the Council of Ministers building. They insist that the taxes of the companies in the branch should not be increased.
The excise tax on tobacco, alcohol and beer will also be raised, said Petkova. In the EU, a significant increase in the minimum excise tax for tobacco is planned, and therefore we propose an excise calendar until 2029. The increase this year for tobacco products is 30 cents.
"The figures for the increase in the excise duty on beer do not catch the decimal point," said Petkova. Currently, the excise rate is BGN 0.015 per liter of beer. With an increase from March 1, 2025, it will increase by BGN 0.003, and from September 1, 2025 - by BGN 0.002.
For one liter of alcohol (40% vol.), the excise tax is raised by 13 cents per liter, plus a 2 cents increase in VAT on the excise tax, making it 15 cents per liter. What is written, that the price of brandy will increase by two or three leva, will be a speculative increase, said Petkova.