May 20 – Tax Freedom Day in Bulgaria

Bulgaria's Tax Freedom Day in 2021 falls on May 20, the latest date in 10 years, said the Institute for Market Economics (IME). Theoretically, the average Bulgarians have worked for nearly 140 days to pay off their tax bill and start earning for themselves.

Despite the pandemic's heavy impact on the economy, the consolidated budget revenues are expected to reach BGN 47.6 billion. Bulgaria's GDP is projected at BGN 124.5 billion, meaning that Bulgarians will generate BGN 341 million a day, said IME's Senior Economist Petar Ganev. Assuming that everything that is produced from the start of the year goes to the public purse, it will take 140 days to fill up.

The consolidated revenues are expected to reach 38.2 per cent of GDP this year. During the recovery from the previous crisis, revenues were around 35-36 per cent of GDP for a relatively long period, from 2013 to 2018.

Ganev said the increase now is a sign of the government's growing role in the economy - which is also manifested in considerably higher public expenditures and the consequent large deficit, projected at BGN 4.9 billion in 2021. The expert said that this amount alone accounted for an extra 14 or more days, during which the economy would have to work only for the public purse.

Tax Freedom Day falling on May 20, 2021 takes into account all revenues, including the "contribution" of EU taxpayers.

As usual, a huge share of the tax burden is borne by the working Bulgarians, said Ganev. Tax Freedom Day comes later for them because they pay income tax and contribute to the social insurance funds. Against the backdrop of an unprecedented slump in economic activity in the first half of 2020, the working population keeps paying more taxes, said the economist. The support measures introduced during the crisis are made possible by taxpayers, who have borne the brunt of the pandemic. 

Source: BTA