3 Bulgarian Ministers to Report Measures Taken against Greece's New Tax

Photo by BGNES

Bulgaria's parliamentary budget committee will hold hearings of three ministers over the introduction of a 26% withholding tax on Greek business transactions originating in Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Ireland.

Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov, Economy Minister Bozhidar Lukarski, and Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov will report to MPs from the parliamentary budget committee the measures taken by Bulgaria against the new tax, according to reports of the Bulgarian National Radio.

Greece introduced the 26% withholding tax on deals and transactions originating in these countries in a bid to fight corporate tax avoidance.

All of the three countries have more favorable corporate taxation regimes than that of Greece.

On March 30, Bulgaria's Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov sent a letter to European Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici, insisting that the tax was based on discriminatory treatment.

Goranov complained that the measure implied that all transactions originating in Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Ireland constituted tax fraud.

He also argued that the introduction of the new 26% tax by Greece violated EU law.

Goranov suggested that the introduction of the 26% withholding tax would have a substantial negative impact on bilateral economic relations between Bulgaria and Greece.

Meanwhile, experts have warned about a risk of a significant decrease in trade between Bulgaria and Greece from the rate of EUR 2.8 B in 2014.

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