September 28 (SeeNews) - Following are some of the main stories in Bulgarian newspapers on Monday morning. SeeNews has not verified these reports and cannot vouch for their accuracy.
DNEVNIK
- The Finance Ministry is considering increasing as of January next year the excise duties levied on fuel and cigarettes, aiming to boost budget revenue, the daily reported quoting an unnamed ministry source. Currently the excise on fuel is 685 levs per 1,000 litres. The ministry has not taken a final decision yet, as the measure will also have a negative effect on the business, the source said. The ministry mulls raising the excise duty on cigarettes to 76 euro per 1,000 pieces, from 52.3 euro now. Bulgaria has to raise the tax as of January to 64 euro per 1,000 pieces, according to a deal that aims at bringing this excise duty in line with the minimum level in the European Union.
- Taxes levied by the state administration on the issue of different documents for citizens and companies rose by 60% from 2005 to 2008, a World Bank report showed. The Bank said that the policy on levying these taxes and their amount is not transparent and it is not known if they raise the budget revenue.
- The European Commission approved the financing of a stretch of the Sofia subway and will extend 157 million euro for the 247 million euro project, to be implemented by 2012, Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said. The rest of the money will come from the state budget and the Sofia municipality.
- A delegation of the German power utility RWE, which is in a 49/51 joint venture with Bulgaria on the construction of Bulgaria’s second nuclear power plant, arrives in Bulgaria on Monday to discuss the future project with top governmental officials, the daily reported.
KLASA
- Austria’s power utility EVN and Vienna-based construction firm Alpine Bau have expressed interest in buying a 75% stake in the Bulgarian long-delayed 500 million euro Gorna Arda hydropower project, the daily reported. Currently Bulgaria's power grid operator NEK holds a 70% stake while the rest is in the hands of Turkey's Construction Contracting Group (CCG).
STANDART
- Value-added tax (VAT) may be cut to 16% from the current 20% when the economic crisis in Bulgaria ends, the Finance Minister Simeon Dyankov said. The government is to submit the 2010 draft budget to parliament for debate this week.