Cash Payments in Bulgaria to Be Limited to 5,000 BGN from 2018, GERB Proposed

The main ruling party GERB proposed on July 12 that cash payments be limited to BGN 5,000 (Euro 2,500) from January 1 next year.

Amendments to the Tax and Social Insurance Code will be discussed on July 13 by the Budget Committee in Parliament.

With the amendments proposed by the Council of Ministers, cash payments were projected to be phased out from 10,000 to 1,000 BGN over the next two years as a means of combating the gray economy.

However, Volya party offer the ceiling to remain 10,000 BGN.

We believe that the balance is 5,000 BGN. We think that 3,000 and 1,000 would lead to difficulties to the economic turnover.When we take steps to bring gray economy into the light, we still have to find the balance between stimulating the economically active entities and the restrictions being undertaken to reduce the gray economy, fight smuggling and raise budget revenues, Menda Stoyanova, Chair of the Budget and Finance Committee said.

Volya opposed this threshold of BGN 1,000 for cash payment, as this will burden the small and medium business and possibly every household, Krastina Taskova, MP from Volya said.