No VAT or excise duties rates cut, finance minister says -report
Amid calls for cutting down rates of value-added tax (VAT) and excise duties, in light of high inflation and price hikes, Finance Minister Plamen Oresharski said that the Government had no plans to take such measures.
Year-on-year inflation in May was 15 per cent, up from 14.6 per cent in April, with more inflationary pressure piled from the utility prices hikes on July 1.
In a July 2 2008 interview with Bulgarian-language Trud daily, Oresharski said that Bulgaria had to soften the impact of recent tax cuts and a planned decrease in social security contributions on budget revenue.
The latter were cut to 33 per cent, from 43 per cent, with the Government's plans being for an additional cut by two percentage points at the start of next year. The VAT rate in Bulgaria is flat at 20 per cent.
The state budget relied on VAT and excise duties revenues, Oresharski told Trud. Furthermore, he said, excise duty rates in Bulgaria were still below the minimum rates in the European Union.
"Even if we cut down the VAT rates prices will not go down because they are not directly related to one another,” he said.
The latest call on the Government to introduce different VAT rates for different groups of goods came from right-wing opposition party Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria on July 1 2008.
Party leader Ivan Kostov, a former finance minister in 1992 and prime minister in 1997/2001, asked Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev to report to Parliament what measures the Government planned to take in reaction to high inflation. The party asked for state relief payments to pensioners and people relying on social welfare.
The next general elections in Bulgaria are scheduled for the summer of 2009.
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Tuesday, October 14 2008
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redryler
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What`s on in Bulgaria
Theatre
12 Angry Monologues/12 razgneveni monologa What: The play is a compilation of 12 of the best monologues from Bulgarian actor Velko Kunev on the National Theatre stage over the past 30 years. Alone on the stage, Kunev re-experiences the fates, thoughts, worries and fears of his characters - including Ham When: October 7 and 25, 7pm Where: Ivan Vazov National Theatre
Volpone What: This comedy, written by English Renaissance playwright Ben Jonson, tells the story of Venetian nobleman Volpone who pretends he’s at death’s door to lure the numerous aspirants to his large inheritance and thereby expose their greed and foolishness. Starr When: October 10, 22 and 28 at 7pm Where: Ivan Vazov National Theatre
Cultural Institutes
Pavel Besta and his inspirations What: This exhibition by Czech artist Pavel Besta coincides with his 50th birthday. His paintings are in the realm of the grey and sorrowful. Besta discusses universal questions touching on the beating hearts and disillusioned faces who dwell in the country’s o When: Until October 31 Where: the Czech cultural centre, 100 G. S. Rakovski Str, Sofia
Art
Painters from Plovdiv exhibit in Sofia What: Natally gallery is organising a general exhibition featuring artists who have depicted Plovdiv’s gentle pace of life in their works. Visitors can admire the delicately smiling characters looking over from Angel Vassilev’s paintings, or the colourful abstr When: Until October 30 Where: Natally, 38A Gourko Str, Sofia
The return of Dimitar Voinov What: Racoursi gallery presents Bulgarian painter Dimitar Voinov, who has lived and worked in Germany since 1986. Now, 22 years later, he is exhibiting in Bulgaria for the first time. His paintings reveal the use of classic techniques, combined with ambiguous s When: Until October 31 Where: Racoursi, 4A Han Kroum Str, Sofia
Eva Peneva and Yulian Yordanov’s graphics for four hands What: This collaboration between two artists is a long-nurtured idea that finally comes to life. Yordanov presents 13 of his graphics including titles like Leda, Fragrance or Temptation. To find an adequate answer to his challenge, Peneva painted glass using va When: Until October 20 Where: Teo, 34 Macedonia Str, Varna
Soshana: Around the world in 80 years What: Austrian painter Susanne Schuller-Soshana is a true cosmopolitan. As one art critic puts it, she has travelled the world not in 80 days, but in 80 years. During her nomadic life, she has met some of the defining titans of the last century’s art scene – in When: Until October 16 Where: Astri, 34 Tsar Samouil Str, Sofia
The apple in the minds of several artists What: Though it has a small exhibition area, this gallery always offers carefully selected artists the chance to flaunt their talents. In this general exhibition nine artists have come together to explore the ‘apple theme.’ Works by Boiko Kolev, Rossen Rashev, When: Until October 20 Where: Art Gallery Paris, 8 Paris Str, Sofia
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