VAT Cut Promised in Bulgaria - But What About Other Taxes?

What are the chances of the 2% drop in VAT being outweighed by increases in other taxes or introducing more taxes that we haven't had before i.e. well water tax? Sounds like typical hoodwinking stuff from politicians that think that the public that voted them in are stupid enough to believe this is good news.

Simeon Dyankov, Bulgaria’s Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, says that the flat income tax rate will stay unchanged, while Value-Added Tax (VAT) could be cut from the current 20 per cent to 18 per cent in 2010 and by a further two per cent by the end of the term of office of Prime Minister Boiko Borissov’s administration.

This depended on persistent positive trends in Bulgaria’s economy, Dyankov said.
However, he said that fiscal policy should not be tampered with during the economic crisis, lest risk be created by unexpected changes.

Dyankov said, as quoted by Dnevnik, that after three months it would become clear whether signs of economic recovery were just a spark or represented a sustainable trend.

Given that Bulgaria followed the trends of its main economic partners, if Germany began to recover now, Bulgaria’s recovery would start in spring 2010.

Bulgaria needed to show results in fighting corruption and the management of EU funds, because these were important for euro area membership, Dyankov said.

Flat tax, which collects 10 per cent of taxpayers’ income, was introduced in Bulgaria at the beginning of 2008, replacing the previous system, which combined several different tax rates - between 20 and 24 per cent, depending on income.

The introduction of a flat rate was the second step in the tax reform after the formalisation of the 10 per cent income tax at the beginning of 2007.

Source: http://eurasia.ro/?p=28597

Give It Up 'Old' Madonna

Give it up Madonna. She thinks she is an evergreen, but age catches up with us all. She should retire after all there is enough money in her account to sink a ship. But it seems that she may well go down with the ship if she carries on as she is. Her ego won’t let her though. She is the same age as me and she now makes me feel old! So us a favour Madonna and become a mom at home housewife and look after your kids.

Madonna comes under more scrutiny as she seems to be withering away at the end of her Sticky & Sweet Tour
The tour is almost over with being its second leg ever since the beginning last year.
Her show in Bulgaria this past Saturday was going well up until her performance of “Holiday” as she passed out on top of one of her dancers as she quickly woke her up and asked her if she was okay, and she kept on going as if nothing had happened.
Many are criticizing her for exhausting herself with her workout regimen and the non-stop touring.
Some have even said that she had it coming for acting like she’s not an “older” woman.

Threats To Bulgaria From The EU - From Afar

Threats come and go very week to Bulgaria regarding getting their house in order with corruption that is more than seemingly ripe. Will this have an affect on what happens? No, it is basically out of control of anyone and threats of this nature are just not going to change anything right now. There needs to be an alternative method something that needs to be done internally in Bulgaria, in effect a kind of revolt or revolution, but most people are too scared, including politicians.

There is a group of European Union countries insisting that the bloc puts in place serious sanctions against Bulgaria for its failings in fighting organised crime and corruption, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Roumyana Zheleva said in Sofia on September 2 2009.

Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU in January 2007 but were subjected to a Co-operation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) about the two countries’ shortcomings in dealing with judicial reform and acting against graft and local mafias.

The CVM is due to run its course in coming months, and the most recent report by the European Commission (EC) compiled under the mechanism found progress but continued shortcomings by both countries.

Zheleva told a news conference that the new Bulgarian Government, which took office in July 2009 after voters rejected giving a further term to the Socialist-led tripartite coalition that had charge of the country after 2005, had to persuade the bloc that Bulgaria was taking concrete measures to achieve tangible results and so stave off the CVM being extended.

Dnevnik said that its sources indicated that Sweden, currently holder of the rotating presidency of the EU, did not want any hint of sanctions or further monitoring.

Other countries, said to include Germany, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Belgium, Finland and the Netherlands were said to favour a tougher approach, demanding to see improved evidence of political will for reform in Bulgaria.

Parliament in the Netherlands is scheduled to discuss a report compiled by its foreign ministry in August that says that Bulgaria and Romania have made inadequate progress and the lack of results could affect access to EU funds and the two countries’ admission to the Schengen visa zone.

The Netherlands is awaiting a forthcoming report on Bulgaria’s management of EU funds before deciding its stance on whether the supply of EU money to Bulgaria should remain frozen.

EC spokesperson Mark Gray told Bulgarian National Radio BNR) that the EC was not holding talks with EU member states on additional measures or sanctions against Bulgaria and Romania.

"We have not taken part in such talks. Discussions are now being held regarding our progress report under the co-operation and verification mechanism. The EU member states under the Swedish Presidency are yet to draw conclusions. The EC is convinced that they will share and accept the report’s analyses, recommendations and assessments," BNR quoted Gray as saying.

Source: www.sofiaecho.com

Bulgarian Drivers Getting Worse

This once again shows how bad Bulgarian drivers are. The mental attitude to many Bulgarians behind the wheel is aggressive to say the least. Then there are the drivers who should have never passed their test in the first place on medical grounds (eyesight being the prime reason). Mobile phones being used whilst driving are the norm here. The answer? Make the Bulgarians pay for their undisciplined driving. Will this make them better drivers or just as bad but poorer?

Bulgarian Interior Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov has disclosed the latest alarming death toll on the country's roads. According to the survey, statistics show that 1000 people are killed every year on Bulgarian roads and well over 10 000 injured, of whom 30 per cent are maimed for life. Tsvetanov revealed those numbers on September 1, as reported by the Focus news agency.

The survey was conducted under a 2008-2010 memorandum for cooperation and understanding signed by the two countries' Interior Ministries.

Tsvetanov said that more than 39 000 people in the European Union are killed every year in traffic accidents. In Bulgaria alone, for every one million people, 131 people are killed. This puts Bulgaria in 21st place in Europe.

Meanwhile, the Netherlands is rated as the second safest country to drive in, with a mere 43 deaths per million people.

"There are serious challenges facing the government – how will it tackle the problem. Everyone will have to pull actively together in this regard if we are to alleviate the situation," he said.

Tsvetanov also said he wanted to implement the Dutch model of issuing fines to drivers who had committed traffic violations. In the Netherlands, drivers must first pay the fine. Only later can they then appeal against it. Should they fail to pay it inside six months, the penalties "are severe".

"This is a strategy which will be considered for Bulgaria. There is no point in raising fines in this country when you can't even collect them in the first place," he said.

"We have to tackle the element of corruption as well, as when the penalties are increased, so is the potential for illegal practices," he said.

Tsvetanov also said that one of the reasons for the high number of road accidents on Bulgarian roads was the Bulgarian mentality, "Our experience shows that the moment Bulgarian motorists leave Bulgaria they become very discipline drivers and obey traffic rules of the respective country".

For the period 2001-2008, safety conditions in France, Luxembourg and Portugal have witnessed the most dramatic improvements, whereas in Romania and Bulgaria they have actually deteriorated.

Source: www.sofiaecho.com

Image via Wikipedia

1100 Litres Of Rakia Seized By Bulgarian Customs

Looks like the walls are closing fast on this kind of business that has been going one for years. This is a ll as a result of EU intervention no doubt. The days of rakia making as a ‘free’ national custom in Bulgaria I can see are numbered now. This however does not prevent thousand still doing the distilling behind closed doors.

Inspectors with the Customs Office – Varna seized 1,100 liters of rakia as a result of the stepped-up check-ups on distillers in the districts of Varna andShumen, the District Customs Directorate – Varna announced.

The 1,100 liters have been confiscated from one factory for distillation of ethyl alcohol with seven stills.

No documents for paid or imposed excise duty have been presented. The duty will be calculated after analysis on the samples taken from the stills. According to initial calculations the sum runs to BGN 6,050.

Further investigation and administrative-criminal proceedings are about to be initiated under the Excise Duty and Tax Warehouse Act.

Source: http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n192248
Image by Boby Dimitrov