MPs conclusively adopted the law on revenue and expenditure

The lawmakers on January 15 conclusively adopted the law on revenues and expenditures, which will be in force until the adoption of the state budget for this year. The law will take retroactive effect from January 1 following its promulgation in the State Gazette.

The law guarantees social payments in the state by giving priority to expenditure. They will be paid for with the revenue collected for the month.

Priority will be given to covering expenses for pensions, salaries, and social payments.

Capital expenditures will only be made following an explicit decision by the Council of Ministers.

Proposals from the WCC-DB (We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria) to introduce restrictions on this type of spending were rejected by the MPs. According to the WCC-DB MPs, this effectively means "giving the finance ministry a blank cheque".

The proposals of WCC-DB related to the system of the Ministry of Interior received serious criticism from the other parties.

Martin Dimitrov and Bozhidar Bozhanov from WCC-DB proposed reducing salary increases in the "Security" sector by calculating them based on the average wage in each region, rather than using the national average. They also suggested dismissing retirees from the MoI system. These proposals were opposed by MPs from GERB-UDF and "Vazrazhdane."

The MPs approved a proposal from GERB-UDF and "MRF - New Beginning" to extend the period for compensating businesses for high electricity prices.

Proposals to extend the reduced VAT rate for restaurateurs and to indefinitely introduce a zero VAT rate for bread and flour were rejected as inadmissible for inclusion in the revenue and expenditure law.

Changes to the Renewable Energy Sources Act, which aimed to ensure petrol supplies in March of this year, were also rejected.