Budget 2026: How Are Negotiations on the State Budget Fiscal Plan Progressing?

Changes to next year’s state budget are expected to be clarified tomorrow, December 2, at a meeting at the Ministry of Finance, attended by employers and trade unions.

The renewed dialogue comes after the leader of GERB announced the withdrawal of the proposed Budget 2026 amid protests and business sector discontent. The European Commission also expressed concerns. It is expected that the plan will drop the proposed double increase in the dividend tax, social security contributions will rise by only one percentage point, and the proposal for sales management software in retail outlets will be dropped.

The Finance Ministry highlighted a nearly 15% year-on-year increase in revenues up to October. The budget deficit is also lower than projected. According to Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova, government measures to tackle the shadow economy have delivered results.

Temenuzhka Petkova, Minister of Finance, said: “Today the Ministry of Finance published the budget execution data as of 31 October 2025. Revenues have increased by BGN 8.6 billion compared to the same period in 2024. The main contribution to this growth comes from tax and social security revenues, which are BGN 7.3 billion higher than in the same period last year. This represents the highest revenue growth achieved in recent years.”