The tax on underground resources has become a one-time contribution of nearly 150 million leva

A one-time contribution to the state budget from underground resources concessionaires is planned instead of a tax. This was announced at a briefing at the Council of Ministers by the acting Minister of Energy Vladimir Malinov, quoted by BTA.

With the help of all organizations that raised the issue, we have reached a balanced solution, in which there will be a one-time contribution within the budget from all underground resources concessionaires only for 2025, worth about 140-150 million leva, the minister announced.

Malinov said that over the past 48 hours he and his team have held intensive talks with all concessionaires who extract underground resources on the territory of Bulgaria, both local and foreign. The minister does not support the introduction of a tax on underground resources, as was envisaged in the draft budget for next year, as this will have a significant impact on the investment climate and future investments.

Therefore, over the past two nights we have held talks with the help of experts from the Ministry of Finance and with the entire industry in order to reach a balanced solution that, on the one hand, satisfies the revenue part of the budget, and on the other hand, investor interest and the development of the sector, announced Minister Malinov.

He said that within a few days the ministry announced that the activities on exploration for oil and gas extraction in the Black Sea by serious companies such as Shell and OMV are continuing. We also believe that in periods when the Bulgarian energy sector is facing serious difficulties, the imposition of additional taxes on coal extraction, which currently supports the Bulgarian electricity mix, is a measure that we do not support, said the acting minister. Malinov is of the opinion that with the help of all the organizations that raised the issue, a balanced solution has been reached for a one-time contribution to the budget from all concessionaires only for 2025.

When asked how the contribution will be determined, the minister said that this will be done in relation to the expected revenues from concession fees for 2024, with the goal being to achieve the same amount for this one-time contribution, which will be in the revenue part of the budget for 2025.

Hundreds of miners gathered in protest outside the Council of Ministers building on Wednesday against the planned introduction of a tax on the extraction of underground resources. The protest was organized by the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Miners under the Confederation of Bulgarian Trade Unions and the Trade Union Miners' Federation of the Confederation of Bulgarian Trade Unions "Podkrepa". The same day, the draft laws on the budget were considered by the National Trade Union Congress and the Council of Ministers. There were also protests in other places with enterprises in the industry.

The measure was proposed by the Ministry of Finance in the budget for next year with the reason of the need to overcome the barriers to updating the concession payments for persons extracting underground resources within the meaning of the Law on Underground Resources. The goal is to achieve a current level of payment for the right to extract underground resources on the territory of the country, which are exclusive state property, the explanatory memorandum said.