The National Assembly has adopted at first reading the draft of the 2015 State Budget Act of the Republic of Bulgaria. The bill was passed with the 130 “yes” votes of the lawmakers from PP GERB, the Reformist Bloc, the Patriotic Front and the ABV parliamentary groups. Eighty two deputies from coalition BSP Leftist Bulgaria, Movement for Rights and Freedoms, Bulgarian Democratic Center and Ataka Party parliamentary groups have voted against the bill. There were no abstentions.

The 2015 State Budget bill sets the deficit threshold at 3%, preserves the amount of taxes, envisages borrowing of a new state loan of  BGN 8,1 B. The mid-term budget envisages decreases of the deficit at the rate of 0, 5 % annually so as to reach the ceiling of 2, 5% of the GDP at 2016 and 2% at 2017.

Interest on bank deposits in 2015 shall be taxed at 10% instead of the current 8%. The existing tax break for the minimum annual wage income is to be withheld and two new preferences for children allowances introduced. The draft budget preserves the same ratio of contributions to the state Social Security Fund and the same amount of subsidies on the part of the state in the “Pensions” part.

The maximum contributory income in 2015 is set at BGN 2 600 and this number is to be kept the same until the end of 2017. The minimum contributory income for agricultural producers is increased from BGN 240 to BGN 420.

The Premier Boyko Borisov has acquainted the lawmakers with the results of the review of the documents of the South Stream Project and declared the Bulgarian government had not changed its stance on the project in favor of the pipeline construction so far as done in accordance with the regulations of the European Union.