site.btaExpert Coalition Council Meets to Discuss Proposed Budget Revision, to Meet Again

Experts of Bulgaria's four government coalition partners met here on Tuesday to discuss proposals for a 2022 State budget revision and agreed to meet again. The get-together comes a day after the Finance Ministry published its plans for budget changes and a day before the Government is expected to approve the draft.

"We considered all proposals, what can happen and what not. It is yet to become clear what exactly the budget revisions will be like," said Venko Sabroutev MP of Continue the Change, the largest party in the government coalition. He added that the idea s to make sure no additional proposals are made before the bill comes up for a second reading and conclusive passage. 

"We considered a possible increase on the revenue side of the budget and then on the expenditure side and, barring this, how these items can be redistributed," he added.

Sabroutev's Continue the Change Party has no ideas about more changes other than those already proposed by the Finance Ministry. 

The revisions are expected to be put on the agenda of the competent parliamentary committees.

Sbroutev assured businesses that the Government is firmly behind them and the compensations for the high energy prices will continue to be provided.

According to Ivaylo Mirchev MP of Democratic Bulgaria (DB), the coalition partners backed two of his party's proposals: for a government subsidy of half of the price of public transport passes applicable countrywide (the exact mechanism is yet to be specified) and for government funding of the construction of kindergartens in Sofia (which would normally be built by municipalities), which is experiencing a shortage of kindergarten capacity. 

Lyubomir Karimanski MP of There Is Such a People (TISP), who chairs the parliamentary Budget and Finance Committee, said that the TISP proposals will be discussed further, likely when the budget revisions reach full-house stage of the parliamentary debate. He is optimistic that the time for reforms will come when the 2023 budget is drafted towards the end of 2022.

The Finance Ministry's draft of 2022 State budget revisions includes various instruments and mechanisms for support, including a higher tax relief for child care to working parents, zero VAT rate for bread for one year, a fuel purchase discount for end-user individuals, scrapping the excise duty for electricity and natural gas, and pension rises.