GERB-SDS MP and former finance minister Temenuzhka Petkova has criticised a package of tax law changes. Prime minister Radev's government put them forward together with the 2027 budget bill. She spoke at a briefing in the parliament chamber.
"On top of an excessive deficit procedure, which this government brought on us, now we also have excessive taxes, which prime minister Radev's government is putting on the table," Petkova told reporters.
She said the cabinet is going back on a pre-election promise made in April, when it said the tax system would stay the same and the burden on people and businesses would not grow. "As we understand it, that won't hold for 2027 — and I suspect not for the future either," the MP added.
For GERB, a conservative party, free enterprise matters most, Petkova said, and she voiced concern over a proposed 33% windfall tax. She said the burden would fall on a whole range of sectors that bring in revenue and jobs. "This tax is basically a penalty on people who work, who take risks and turn a profit," Petkova said, adding that it is a heavy blow to business and a bad signal to investors, since it removes any predictability.
Higher tax valuations on buildings will automatically push up the tax property owners pay, Petkova also pointed out. The change will phase in over the next three years, and by the end of the third year — 2029 — the tax on buildings will have doubled, she warned.
On the proposed excise duty on cars with more than 250 kilowatts of power, Petkova said the new charge would hit not only owners of such combustion-engine cars. It would also hit people who bought electric cars with state subsidies. "The clear intent here is to take from the richest and give to the poorer, but people who bought and use electric cars — the ones we gave subsidies to — will end up losing out too," she explained.
The GERB MP also turned to changes in the Public Finance Act, which she called strange. Besides amendments required by an EU directive, the changes also strip out clauses that Radev's own government had broken with the 2026 state budget law. "A large chunk of the clauses they broke, they're simply removing," Petkova said.
On higher tax breaks for children, the MP said GERB would back any move in that direction. But the party won't accept giving with one hand while taking with the other, she said.
When GERB returns to power — and Petkova said it will — all these unfair taxes will be scrapped, the former finance minister said.
On the proposed ban on gambling ads, she said it's a step in the right direction. But care must be taken so that a large part of that business doesn't shift into the grey market, she said.