site.btaFinance Minister on Draft Budget, Pensions, Government Debt, Budget Deficit

Sofia, December 2 (BTA) - Finance Minister Valery Beltchev Thursday said the caretaker cabinet had complied with the law by drafting a budget proposal so as to maintain the country's stability. Talking with the public on the Council of Minister's Facebook page, he said the point was to prevent a drop in incomes.

There is no budget of the caretaker cabinet - this is the State budget, Beltchev said. In his words, the budget proposal is consistent with the parameters which are being negotiated by the four parties of the future government coalition.

It is very important that the pensioners' income must not decrease in absolute terms from the current minimum pension of 300 leva plus a COVID supplement of 120 leva. The cabinet proposes that for the duration of the pandemic in 2022, pensioners should get a minimum income of 430 leva, made up of a pension of 370 leva and a COVID supplement of 60 leva. Afterwards the pension will be 370 leva.

A 5 per cent pay rise in the public sector is planned for 2022, Beltchev said.

There are no plans for a tax increase.

Beltchev said the government debt issued in 2021 stood at 3.8 billion leva, while the ceiling set by the 2021 State Budget Act is 4.5 billion leva. The caretaker cabinet is not planning to issue more government debt by the year's end because revenues are good. It is likely to end the year with a balanced budget or even with a small surplus, although the State Budget Act provides for a budget deficit.

The budget proposal for 2022 sets the deficit at 2.9 per cent of GDP. The government debt to be issued next year is projected in the range of 10 to 12 billion leva, of which one third will go towards debt payments. It would be realistic to project inflation at or slightly over 4 per cent in 2022.

Saying that the Bulgarian economy has not suffered too huge a blow from the pandemic, Beltchev expressed a hope that a longer period of GDP growth would follow and that the European economies would start to grow.

He predicted that Bulgaria would not have a COVID lockdown in the next six months. DD