Tax on motor vehicles is set to go up as Bulgaria aligns its law with that of the European Union.
The first reading of the proposal was approved by Parliament on November 29.
At the same time, taxes on rakiya, Bulgaria’s traditional distilled liquor, will go up to 5.5 leva a litre, and the excise on coffee will be increased.
Parliament also approved the introduction of excise duties on coke, coal and electricity, adopting the first reading of amendments to the Excise Duties and Warehouses Act. There will be changes to excises on leaded and unleaded fuels, gas oil, kerosene and heavy fuels.
Electricity for household consumption, and coal and coke used by natural persons will be exempt from excise duties.
The changes were opposed by the centre-right Union of Democratic Forces, which said that the consumer would be hard hit by the increases, and said that in most EU countries, coffee and motor vehicles were not subject to excise taxes.
On the same day, Parliament approved the first reading of amendments to the Local Taxes and Fees Act. The amendments, which if winning final approval will take effect on January 1, will mean a 20 per cent increase in tax evaluations of immovable properties.
The amendments say that a tax evaluation may be changed when the index of market values of immovable property, as kept by the National Statistical Institute, has increased or dropped by more than 20 per cent since the last time they were updated. The Cabinet, which proposed the amendments, said that it wanted to impose a 20 per cent increase.
Meanwhile, on November 28 Pari daily reported that from 2007, Bulgarian tax authorities will be able to seize property and financial resources of tax debtors throughout the EU, if amendments to the Taxation Procedure Security Code are given final approval by Parliament.
Both readings of the amendments have been approved by Parliament’s committee on the budget.
According to the amendments, Bulgaria will be able to receive support from and provide assistance to EU member states in the collection of public debts. This mutual assistance will be subject to control by the Finance Minister or the minister’s nominee. Countries will co-operate in regard to four types of requests - for information, for notification, for collection of a debt, and for security measures. Debts owed for taxes, customs, excises and VAT will be covered by the arrangement. To be eligible for a cross-border co-operation request, a claim must be for a minimum 1500 euro.
