Taxi drivers’ protest blocks Plovdiv traffic
Traffic in the centre of Bulgaria’s second city Plovdiv was blocked on April 6 as taxi drivers turned out in convoy to protest against amendments to the law that would increase taxes on their industry.
Amendments to the Local Taxes and Fees Act, the second reading of which is expected to be voted on by the National Assembly soon, impose new licensing fees for taxis of 400 to 1000 leva (about 200 to 500 euro).
The tax would have to be paid at the beginning of the year, which at a meeting in March in Varna, taxi drivers rejected as amounting to a tax on income that they had not yet earned.
In Plovdiv on April 6, taxi drivers occupied the city’s busiest intersections.
Participants in the protest, which involved about 200 cars, said that if Parliament approved the changes to the law, there would be larger-scale national protests, including a blockade of the centre of Sofia.
(Photo: podtepeto.com)
