The draft of the Council of Ministers for the state budget for this year will be considered on Wednesday as the first item in the meeting of the deputies.
This will be the first reading and voting of the document in the plenary hall.
Deputies will first discuss the government's draft laws for the State Social Security budget and the Health Fund budget, and then move on to the parameters of the central budget.
Important parameters
The estimates for the expenses under the draft Law on the State Budget of Bulgaria for 2025 are prepared on the basis of the current legislation, as well as taking into account the effects of reflecting the changes in regulatory acts that come into force on January 1, 2025.
The main spending policies leading to an increase in the expenditure part of the budget for the period 2025-2028 are:
· The estimates for the period 2025-2028 take into account the increase in the minimum wage (MW) from January 1, 2025 - from BGN 933 to BGN 1,077;
· An increase in the maximum social security income is planned from BGN 3,750 to BGN 4,130 from April 1, 2025, respectively BGN 4,430. from January 1, 2026, 4,730 BGN from January 1, 2027 and 5,030 from January 1, 2028;
· The minimum insured income for self-insured persons from April 1, 2025 is 1,077 BGN;
· Preservation of the amount of the benefit for raising a child up to two years of age - 780 BGN;
· For the period 2025-2028, pensions for employment granted by December 31 of the previous year are updated from July 1 of the relevant year under Art. 100 of the Social Insurance Code or the so-called “Swiss rule“. Additional funds in the amount of 1,033.1 million leva have been provided for the modernization of pensions from July 1, 2025;
· The draft budget for 2025 estimates an increase in personnel costs by 5% for structures for which no other increases are provided in implementation of adopted regulatory acts and current policies;
· In 2025, the policy of increasing the remuneration of teaching staff in secondary education by 125% of the average gross salary for 2024 was maintained, with the effect on costs being an increase of 499 million. лв.
In order to increase revenues in the state budget, measures have been proposed in the tax legislation, the effects of which have been taken into account when forecasting tax revenues, among them are:
► Improving fiscal control by upgrading the information system and optimizing risk analysis;
► A new excise calendar for excise rates on tobacco and tobacco products has been proposed. The measure is a continuation of the practice of a balanced, phased increase in excise rates on tobacco and tobacco products. It is related to optimizing budget revenues, as a similar approach is currently being applied in excise legislation in view of the significant share of excise revenues on tobacco and tobacco products in total tax revenues in the state budget. In this sense, the measure is proposed as a continuation of the already established practice of ensuring transparency of processes, predictability for business and stability for consumers. In this regard, and since the revision of Council Directive 2011/64/EU expects significantly higher requirements for minimum levels of taxation, through the introduction of a phased increase in excise duty, our country's lag behind other EU member states will be reduced;
► Clarifying the shadow economy in the field of fuels, by limiting the possibility of using receipts not received at gas stations to provide other entities with the purpose of issuing invoices on which to illegally deduct a tax credit under the VAT Act. The envisaged legal change reduces the possibilities for value added tax fraud related to the “trade” with receipts and, accordingly, with VAT evasion.
The insurance policy provides for the retention of the amount of the insurance contribution for the “Pensions” fund for 2025 and 2026 of the State Social Insurance (SSI) at the level of 2024. The amounts of insurance contributions for the other SSI funds are also maintained, as well as the ratios between insurers and insured persons.
The minimum insurance income for self-insured persons increases from April 1, 2025 to BGN 1,077. The minimum insurance income for farmers and tobacco producers also increases from April 1, 2025 to BGN 1,077.
The maximum insurance income for all insured persons increases for the entire forecast period, respectively, from April 1, 2025 to BGN 4,130, for 2026 to BGN 4,430, for 2027 - BGN 4,730 and for 2028 - BGN 4,730. 5,030 BGN.