site.btaResearchers Detect Steady Rollback of Bulgaria's Grey Economy
NW 14:38:31 15-12-2020
LN1436NW.333
ECONOMY - GREY ECONOMY - INDEX
Researchers Detect
Steady Rollback of
Bulgaria's Grey Economy
Sofia, December 15 (BTA) - On the whole, Bulgaria's informal economy is shrinking. This positive trend has been in evidence since 2010, but this country is lagging behind the rest of the EU in this respect, Prof. Stefan Petranov told a BTA-hosted news conference here on Tuesday.
Petranov heads a team that created the Business to the Rules Composite Index through which the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association (BICA) has been measuring the formal economy in this country for ten years now.
Listing the factors contributing to the reduction of the informal economy, the economist mentioned an improving regulatory framework, a lighter administrative burden, tightened control of tax warehouses for fuels, and measures taken by the
Ministry of Culture to bring to light the number of cable TV customers.
According to the professor, the factors holding back the reduction of the informal economy include the insufficient reforms in healthcare, protection of competition, justice and internal order and security, the negative situation of education and the strenuous progress of labour market reforms. As an additional obstacle, he pointed to the latest in a series of minimum wage increases imposed by administrative order.
Petranov expects the share of Bulgaria's grey economy to contract to 18 per cent by 2023 if the pace of its reduction is kept up, but this will still be above the EU average of 12-15 per cent.
The researcher noted that the share of the grey sector in Bulgaria's cigarettes industry was 4.5-5 per cent in 2019 and is edging up, whereas its share in the smoking tobacco industry approximates 50 per cent.
As from next year, the BICA will add an Employment to the Rules Composite Index to the Business to the Rules.
BICA Board Chairman Vassil Velev said that his organization is conducting this survey and is consistently fighting the grey sector because the informal economy steals from the public purse. "If the share of the grey sector is 20 per cent, this means that the budget loses 10 billion leva in revenue, considering that 40 per cent of GDP is reallocated through the budget," Velev commented. "The grey sector impacts corruption, they assist and speed up each other, and it leads to unfair competition," he added. NV/LG
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LN1436NW.333
ECONOMY - GREY ECONOMY - INDEX
Researchers Detect
Steady Rollback of
Bulgaria's Grey Economy
Sofia, December 15 (BTA) - On the whole, Bulgaria's informal economy is shrinking. This positive trend has been in evidence since 2010, but this country is lagging behind the rest of the EU in this respect, Prof. Stefan Petranov told a BTA-hosted news conference here on Tuesday.
Petranov heads a team that created the Business to the Rules Composite Index through which the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association (BICA) has been measuring the formal economy in this country for ten years now.
Listing the factors contributing to the reduction of the informal economy, the economist mentioned an improving regulatory framework, a lighter administrative burden, tightened control of tax warehouses for fuels, and measures taken by the
Ministry of Culture to bring to light the number of cable TV customers.
According to the professor, the factors holding back the reduction of the informal economy include the insufficient reforms in healthcare, protection of competition, justice and internal order and security, the negative situation of education and the strenuous progress of labour market reforms. As an additional obstacle, he pointed to the latest in a series of minimum wage increases imposed by administrative order.
Petranov expects the share of Bulgaria's grey economy to contract to 18 per cent by 2023 if the pace of its reduction is kept up, but this will still be above the EU average of 12-15 per cent.
The researcher noted that the share of the grey sector in Bulgaria's cigarettes industry was 4.5-5 per cent in 2019 and is edging up, whereas its share in the smoking tobacco industry approximates 50 per cent.
As from next year, the BICA will add an Employment to the Rules Composite Index to the Business to the Rules.
BICA Board Chairman Vassil Velev said that his organization is conducting this survey and is consistently fighting the grey sector because the informal economy steals from the public purse. "If the share of the grey sector is 20 per cent, this means that the budget loses 10 billion leva in revenue, considering that 40 per cent of GDP is reallocated through the budget," Velev commented. "The grey sector impacts corruption, they assist and speed up each other, and it leads to unfair competition," he added. NV/LG
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