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Tue, Feb 07 2012
Excise duty on hard liquor and beer to remain the same
Photo: Tsvetelina Nikolaeva
Excise duties on beer and hard liquor will not be increased in 2010, Bulgaria's Parliament decided on November 25 2009. The decision is final after MPs approved the second reading pf amendments to the Excise Duty Act.
Increasing excise duties on alcohol became a much-debated issue in the past month, with twists and turns in the sage.
Finance Minister Simeon Dyankov started the debate by saying that he wanted excise duties to increase as of 2010 in order to secure an additional 60 million leva revenue for the Budget, which could be used for funding other activities, among them the treatment of cancer.
Strong public opposition to price increases prompted Prime Minister Boiko Borissov to axe Dyankov's proposal, but the plan surprisingly was resurrected by Parliament's committee on the budget on November 20 2009.
The budget committee's proposal was to increase the excise on spirits by 13.6 per cent to 1.25 leva a litre of pure alcohol, which would mean a 0.7 leva to 0.75 leva a bottle increase in the retail price of spirits, Bulgarian media said.
Many critics of the idea said that such a price hike would boost the grey economy, especially in the case of home-made liquor, mainly the traditional Bulgarian rakiya. Currently households are allowed to make up to 30 litres of rakiya a year without paying tax.
If the budget committee's proposal had been approved, the excise on home-made rakiya, which is set at half the rate of the regular duty, would have become 625 leva for 1000 litres.
It was the increase in the excise duty on home-made spirits, a sensitive subject in Bulgaria, where home-made wine and rakiya are centuries-old traditions, that provoked public discontent.
It made Borissov back down and say that because of this year's considerably high grape production, home-made rakiya production would be higher than the 30-litre tax free-quota.
On November 26 2009, Borissov said that he hoped that MPs would not go ahead with the planned excise duty hike.
To compensate for their decision, MPs decided to introduce a unified tax rate on gambling of 15 per cent as of next year.
Currently, gambling on sports is taxed at 10 per cent of revenue, while all the other games of chance, such as lottery, casino games and bingo, are levied 12 per cent tax.
Increasing excise duties on alcohol became a much-debated issue in the past month, with twists and turns in the sage.
Finance Minister Simeon Dyankov started the debate by saying that he wanted excise duties to increase as of 2010 in order to secure an additional 60 million leva revenue for the Budget, which could be used for funding other activities, among them the treatment of cancer.
Strong public opposition to price increases prompted Prime Minister Boiko Borissov to axe Dyankov's proposal, but the plan surprisingly was resurrected by Parliament's committee on the budget on November 20 2009.
The budget committee's proposal was to increase the excise on spirits by 13.6 per cent to 1.25 leva a litre of pure alcohol, which would mean a 0.7 leva to 0.75 leva a bottle increase in the retail price of spirits, Bulgarian media said.
Many critics of the idea said that such a price hike would boost the grey economy, especially in the case of home-made liquor, mainly the traditional Bulgarian rakiya. Currently households are allowed to make up to 30 litres of rakiya a year without paying tax.
If the budget committee's proposal had been approved, the excise on home-made rakiya, which is set at half the rate of the regular duty, would have become 625 leva for 1000 litres.
It was the increase in the excise duty on home-made spirits, a sensitive subject in Bulgaria, where home-made wine and rakiya are centuries-old traditions, that provoked public discontent.
It made Borissov back down and say that because of this year's considerably high grape production, home-made rakiya production would be higher than the 30-litre tax free-quota.
On November 26 2009, Borissov said that he hoped that MPs would not go ahead with the planned excise duty hike.
To compensate for their decision, MPs decided to introduce a unified tax rate on gambling of 15 per cent as of next year.
Currently, gambling on sports is taxed at 10 per cent of revenue, while all the other games of chance, such as lottery, casino games and bingo, are levied 12 per cent tax.
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Catching the right ones
Bulgaria’s plans to increase revenue collection from the wine and spirits industry are good, provided they do not make life worse for legitimate businesses
Bulgaria's Parliament adopts a 15 per cent unified tax rate on gambling
The quarterly tax on gambling machines and roulette tables will also be increased as of January 1 2010 to 500 leva and 22 000 leva, respectively.
VAT to be charged on legal representation in court from 2010
VAT reimbursement to take between one and three months at the most, Parliament decided.
Three in a row
Beer, gambling and legal services could be more expensive in 2010
Bulgaria moots higher excise on beer
Bulgaria’s Finance Ministry was considering an increase in the beer excise duty, sources familiar with the issue told Dnevnik.
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Appointments
British Council
Lyubov Kostova was appointed country manager of British Council Bulgaria effective January 1, replacing Tony Buckby, who left in October 2011 to take a similar position at British Council Greece. Kostova has been with British Council Bulgaria for 11 years, as public communications manager and, since 2008, as the head of project and partnerships department. Prior to joining the British Council, Kostova was head of international activities at the National Academy for Theatre and Cinema Arts (NATFIZ). She has a degree in Indian studies from Kliment Ohridski Sofia University.
CEZ
Stefan Apostolov is the new chief executive of CEZ Razpredelenie Bulgaria, the power transmission subsidiary of Czech energy company CEZ in the country. He replaces interim chief executive Ales Damm, who remains the chairperson of the CEZ Razpredelenie management board. Apostolov has 30 years of experience in the energy sector, joining CEZ in 2007 as director of customer service and was later appointed as head of business development. Apostolov has a master's degree in electric systems from the Belorussian National Technical University in Minsc, management diplomas from Open University London and New Bulgarian University, as well as a master's degree in business administration from Plovdiv University.
BASF Bulgaria
Valentina Dikanska is the new general manager of chemical industry giant BASF subsidiary in Bulgaria, taking over from Herbert Fisch, BASF vice president for Southeastern Europe. Dikanska, who started her career as an expert in the Finance Ministry, joined BASF Bulgaria as director of finance and administration in 2002. She becomes the first Bulgarian to hold the top management position in the company in its 40-year history on the Bulgarian market. Dikanska holds a master's degree in economics from the University for National and World Economy in Sofia.
Rompetrol Bulgaria
Alexander Albin has been appointed chief executive of fuel distributor Rompetrol Bulgaria, replacing Nichita Sorin, who left to become chief executive of Rompetrol Gaz in Romania. Albin was previously chief executive of Rompetrol Georgia. He has more than 15 years of experience in the oil and gas industry; prior to joining Romania's oil group Rompetrol in 2008 as an adviser, he oversaw operations at Atyrau refinery in Kazakhstan, owned by Rompetrol's parent company KazMunaiGaz. He previously held top management positions at two other leading Kazakh oil and gas companies.
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Hey Mark, now why would you be waiting in a cue, would that be snooker or more likely American Pool. The correct spelling is queu quote "A line of waiting people or vehicles" something which I recall I see regularly in the Post Office or on the streets of Sofia and something that is regularly referred to in Bulgarian "опашка” !!
I say more American English and forget about British English completely. No one ever buys a bottle of "spirits" and the waits in a "cue" for the "public transport" to take them back to their "flat". Where does that nonsense come from? I read the Echo daily and see those words used here all the time and no one living in America (and no one living here calls this county "The States) would ever use any of those words in normal conversation. You buy a bottle of liquor and then wait in line for the bus to take you home [...]
Read the full comment to your apartment (where hopefully your slender young Bulgaria girlfriend will have dinner waiting for you).
Balancing the budget with booze (now that is a real American terms for "spirits) is going to be a failure and it is just as well that the proposed legislation failed.
Hard liquor? I think you mean spirits.
Why do Sofia Echo writers always use American expressions. There are far more people from the British Isles buying the paper than Americans.