13.08.2013

"The President did not want to listen to the arguments we presented. His political position prevailed and he clearly positioned himself politically in the budget revision debate". This is what Minister of Finance Petar Chobanov says in an interview for Trud Daily. "The third reading of the budget revision in Parliament will be required for purely political reasons", Minister Chobanov is explicit.

Asked about the need for maintaining the fiscal reserve level through a newly issued debt of BGN 1 billion, Minister Chobanov answers that the fiscal reserve is "like an immune system for the budget, but unfortunately in the last couple of years it has been used as a money-box" wherefrom money has constantly been taken out and it has not been properly maintained.

Mr. Petar Chobanov emphasises once again on the strong budgetary pressure and states that the budget should contain reserves in order to be able to make unforeseen payments, such as, for instance, the BGN 100,000 needed for the indemnity of the Oranovo miners. As to the measures of the Ministry of Finance aimed at improving revenue collection, Minister Chobanov points out that he trusts the present NRA Executive Director Boyko Atanasov and that every week the Ministry of Finance informs the society about any new initiatives concerning tax fraud and smuggling. "In the last couple of weeks there are hopeful signs about the work of the Bulgarian Customs Agency", says the Minister about the other revenue agency and specifies that "there probably won't be a competition for the director of the Customs Agency because there is no time for this". "This system needs a person with administrative experience who has authority and is familiar with the work of the revenue agencies and with the coordination between them", adds Minister Chobanov.

The Finance Minister repeats once again that the "decision about the minimum wage must be taken after being discussed with the employers' organisations and the trade unions".