Balgarianovinite.com As Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova met with employers’ organizations and trade unions on Tuesday, it transpired that the government is trying to fill a BGN 1.5 billion shortfall in the public purse after a decision to revisit the 2026 state budget bill. “The effect of the measures that the governing majority has decided to remove from the new draft budget for 2026 will create the need to find nearly BGN 1.5 billion, which will be sought through reducing the expenditure side of the budget, including capital investments, as well as through measures on the revenue side,” she said.
Petkova noted that the government-backing majority is abandoning an increase of the dividend tax to 10% from 5%, raised social security contributions (by 2 percentage points), and a requirement for businesses to use sales management software approved by the National Revenue Agency (SUPTO). It will also be proposed to drop the mechanism linking remuneration in certain sectors to the level of the average wage in the country.
“Based on the decisions taken by the governing coalition, what we are looking for is EUR 1.492 billion,” Petkova said. According to her, this amount will not be compensated through new debt, but instead a review of the capital programmes of the ministries with the largest capital expenditures will be carried out, and opportunities will be sought there, along with measures on the revenue side.
Petkova emphasized that the withdrawn budget is based on policies from previous years, and that it must be taken into account that the governing coalition has been in office for only 11 months. She highlighted as government achievements the country’s entry into the eurozone and the received funding under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.
Rumen Radev, chairman of the Association of Industrial Capital in Bulgaria and rotating chairman of the Association of Bulgarian Employers’ Organizations, presented the business sector’s demands. Among them are dropping the increase of social security contributions and the dividend tax, dropping SUPTO, as well as expanding the list of goods with elevated fiscal risk. Business representatives also propose that the increase of the maximum insurable income be set at BGN 4,430, rather than the BGN 4,600 as was proposed, and they call for abolishing any automatic wage adjustments.
Plamen Dimitrov, president of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria, stated that a distinction must be made between automatic wage adjustment and policies for increasing incomes, giving as an example the wage increases in the education sector.
He stressed that CITUB is in favor of raising the maximum insurable income to the initially proposed amount, as this increase reflects the growth in the average insurable income. A similar position was expressed by the Podkrepa Confederation of Labour.
The trade unions pointed out that income increases are something the government cannot back away from, with Plamen Dimitrov highlighting sectors such as the BDZ Passenger Services rail operator, the Sofia public transport companies, and Bulgarian Posts. Podkrepa insisted on raising unemployment benefits as well as benefits for childcare up to the age of 2.
Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov also attended the meeting, emphasizing that dialogue with the social partners has been restored, noting that it is better for this to happen late than never .
“The purpose of any government that enjoys parliamentary support is to be able to propose a financial framework that corresponds to the capabilities of the economy and the needs of society,” he said.
Zhelyazkov noted that the optimization of the administration is an issue under consideration.
Dobri Mitrev, the head of the Bulgarian Industrial Association, stated that employers are not calling for mass layoffs in the administration, but for reductions where there are unfilled staff positions and employees who have reached retirement age.
Petkova said in conclusion that dialogue will continue and information will be exchanged regarding the new 2026 budget draft. According to her, another meeting in the same format may take place as early as this week, and once the measures are clarified, the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation (NCTC) will convene.
At the proposal of Prime Minister Zhelyazkov, the next working meeting will be on Friday, and the NCTC will convene next week. BGN 1.5 Bln Shortfall in Public Purse after Cabinet’s Decision to Abandon 2026 State Budget Bill 2025 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2025-12-02 18:11:48 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