Caretaker government submitted the draft budget 2023 to the Parliament

The caretaker government on April 28 submitted to the Parliament the draft state budget, the draft budget of the Health Insurance Fund and the draft budget of the state social insurance. They were approved earlier in the day at an extraordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers.

In the draft budget of the caretaker government, revenues seriously lag behind expenditures. The planned difference between them is record high - BGN 12 billion with a negative sign or 6.4% deficit of GDP.

According to the Finance Ministry, the only chance to reduce the deficit without cutting social spending is to raise some taxes.

"It is important to know that turning the budget procedure into a time-wasting exercise will be a move, from which both citizens and businesses may lose. From now on, the actions related to the financial plan for the year will speak for the true intentions," said caretaker PM, Galab Donev.

Finance Ministry figures show that the main reason for the large deficit is the decisions taken by the National Assembly last year. This is why new public debt amounting to BGN 13.7 billion needs to be incurred.

"This is not about passing the buck, since our proposals for revenue measures were not adopted, it is responsible and reasonable to present the MPs with a draft budget developed under the existing legislation," caretaker PM added.

The calculations in the draft budgets were made with an expected economic growth of 1.8 percent this year and an average annual inflation of 8.7%.

The draft budget is to be considered and voted in the National Assembly.