The Association of the Organizations of the Bulgarian Employers (AOBE) urged on Monday that plans to raise taxes and social security contributions in the draft State Budget Act of the Republic of Bulgaria for 2026 be abandoned and called for public consultations before the bill’s submission to the National Assembly.
The Association addressed its call to Minister of Innovation and Growth Tomislav Donchev and Minister of Finance Temenuzhka Petkova, in a letter shared on its website.
The employer organizations called on the ruling majority and all stakeholders to restore social dialogue and pursue solutions through reforms and increased efficiency, rather than by imposing new tax and social security burdens on business and citizens.Employers argue that the country needs predictability, stability and partnership, not impulsive decisions taken behind closed doors.
AOBE expressed firm disagreement with the practice of sending draft state budgets for comment at the last minute, with just hours allowed for positions rather than reasonable timeframes. They specified that, in this case, they received the draft State Budget Act of the Republic of Bulgaria for 2026 and the Updated Medium-Term Budget Forecast for 2026–2028 only late on November 3, saying this did not represent statesmanlike behaviour, but demonstrated disregard for social dialogue and the role of socio-economic partners.
The letter concluded that the extremely short deadlines, less than 24 hours for a session of the Budget Policy Committee of the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation and barely a day before the NCTC session, were not a technical oversight but a deliberate attempt to bypass public debate. “Only broad transparency and genuine public discussion can ensure even an attempt at consensus on issues affecting Bulgarian business and citizens,” AOBE said.
At the same time, AOBE strongly objected to the absence of reforms and measures to improve the efficiency of public spending, and the departure from the previously stated commitment not to alter the tax and social security system.
AOBE called both the proposed 2-percentage-point rise in social security contributions, which would result in a more than 10% increase in Pensions Fund costs, and the doubling of dividend tax rates “utterly unacceptable”. The Association warned that these measures would deter investment, expand the shadow economy, reduce competitiveness, accelerate inflation, and slow economic growth.
Earlier on Monday, the Ministry of Finance published the draft State Budget Act for 2026 and the Updated Medium-Term Budget Forecast for 2026-2028 on its website. With the introduction of the euro from January 1, 2026, all budget-related information and documents are being prepared in euro at the official exchange rate, according to Petkova’s report. Employers’ Association Warns Against Higher Taxes in 2026 Budget THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2025-11-03 21:23:11 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law