June 28 (SeeNews) - Between 2023 and 2025, Bulgaria's tax policy will focus on improving revenue collection, preventing tax evasion and and non-payment, and reducing administrative burdens and costs for businesses and households, the finance ministry said.
This year, the finance ministry projects an increase of 4.7 billion levs ($2.6 billion/2.4 billion euro) in tax revenues compared to 2022, with value-added tax (VAT) accounting for 1.7 billion levs of the additional revenue, the finance ministry said in an updated medium-term budget forecast published on Tuesday.
Budget revenue is forecast at 37.7% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023, or 69.5 billion levs in nominal terms, 38.2% of GDP, or 75.4 billion levs in 2024, and 37% of GDP, or 77.8 billion levs in 2025.
In parallel, expenditures are projected at 40.1% of GDP in 2023, or just over 74 billion levs, 41.9% of GDP in 2024, or 82.8 billion levs, and 40.9% of GDP in 2025, or some 86 billion levs.
Based on these forecasts, a budget deficit equivalent to 3% of the planned gross domestic product (GDP) is projected for 2023 and 2024, before increasing to 3.6% in 2025, the finance ministry said.
The finance ministry expects government debt to reach 40.6 billion levs at the end of 2023, which will be equal to 22% of GDP. Due to the projected increase in capital expenditures in 2024 and 2025, government debt is seen to rise to 25.1% of GDP in 2024 and 28.3% of GDP in 2025.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)