Employers want funds to deal with COVID and the energy crisis in Budget 2022

The State Budget for 2022 to provide funds for financing policies to address the effects of the crisis caused by COVID-19, as well as the energy, asked the Association of Bulgarian Employers' Organizations (ABEO), of which BICA is a member, BIA, CEIBG and BCCI. In their recommendations to the financial framework of the state for next year, the four nationally representative organizations want to set aside funds for the implementation of policies to improve the business environment, as well as opportunities to ensure economic growth in Bulgaria. This became clear after a meeting between representatives of ABEO and BSP, initiated by the political party.

According to the employers' organizations, regardless of the complex political situation, the debates on the priorities and policies of "Budget 2022" should be on the public agenda and the project should be submitted and voted on as soon as possible when constructing the new parliament.

The policies related to anti-crisis measures, including accelerated investment of European funds, were identified as extremely important by ABEO. These include maintaining the measure to preserve employment, applying one to finance the fixed costs of enterprises with a decline in sales revenues over 30% compared to those implemented in 2019, which will support the liquidity of companies, as well as measures to compensate for the unprecedentedly high prices of electricity and natural gas, many times exceeding the EWRC estimates.

The representatives of ABEO categorically announced their support for maintaining tax stability while maintaining the levels of tax rates and social security contributions for 2022. According to the organization, this is one of the main factors for encouraging investment and providing conditions for economic growth. In addition, employers insisted on strict compliance with the cost-covering principle in the formation of state and municipal fees. Once again, ABEO made a remark against the continuous postponement of the calculation of the "Household Waste" fee based on real pollution and insisted that the 2022 Budget be prepared on the basis of which it is formed on the "polluter pays" principle.

Among the other important recommendations of ABEO for the budget for next year were to look for opportunities to include in it estimates for the implementation of specific reforms in the health insurance system, suspension of the administrative increase of the minimum wage and pension, termination of the payment by the enterprises of the first 3 days of sick leave, etc.