Bulgarian PM: VAT cut for restaurants and hotels to take effect this year

A few hours after saying that value-added tax for restaurants and places of entertainment registered under the Tourism Act would be cut from 20 per cent to nine per cent as of the beginning of 2021, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borissov said that the cut would take effect this year.

However, the measure would be temporary and would stay in effect until the end of 2021, Borissov told a briefing in Parliament.

He said that the legislation would be tabled in the National Assembly on May 13, at which point it would become clear from what date the change was envisaged to take effect.

Borissov was speaking after meeting members of the parliamentary group of his GERB party and of minority coalition partners VMRO and NFSB.

This meeting resulted in the change from the move that he had announced after talks in the morning with representatives of Bulgarian restaurant and hotel associations.

Borissov reiterated that the VAT cut was vehemently opposed by Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov, who was against differentiated VAT rates.

Estimates are that the VAT reduction for restaurants and places of entertainment will cost 150 million leva (about 75 million euro) in lost revenue.

Borissov said that it was also proposed to reduce VAT on books to nine per cent. This reduction would be permanent, he said.

(Photo, taken in Plovdiv’s Kapana distrrict on May 11: Lance Nelson of appfactory.bg)

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