Garbage Fee in Bulgaria May Be Divided into 2 Payments

Bulgaria's Finance Ministry has proposed to divide the garbage fee into two parts.

One part of the payment will be for cleaning public spaces and the other part for collecting household waste.

If the amendments to the Local Taxes and Fees Act are approved, the new garbage fee will enter into force in the beginning of 2015, according to reports of econ.bg.

The number of people living in a property or the number of employees in an office will have an impact on the amount of the garbage fee.

If the number of people living in a property cannot be determined, the amount of the garbage fee will be calculated on the basis of the tax assessment of the property.

As regards the second part of the payment, the municipalities will pick between several methods of calculation.

The first method is tied to the amount of waste discarded per person.

The fee will be paid through purchases of garbage disposal bags or stickers which will be put on common garbage disposal bags.

The other option is to measure the amount of waste through the bins in front of people's homes.

Still another option is to calculate an average per capita rate and then multiply it by the number of people residing in a property.

Another way is to tie the amount of the fee to the amount of water used.

A combination of the above-mentioned methods is also an option.

If the Parliament fails to approve the legal changes, the garbage fee will not be separated into two payments, but it will be calculated using a new method as of early 2015, according to Deputy Finance Minister Lydmila Petkova, as cited by Trud Daily.

The bill also proposes to terminate all contracts of municipalities with garbage collection companies by December...