Bulgarian Cable TV Owners Evade Taxes on Large Scale

There are 2.4 million TV customers, of whom 700 thousand in the so-called grey sector, for which the state officially does not know. By doing so, the cable TV owners, while committing crime against intellectual property, evade taxes on a large scale, Spokesperson of the Prosecutor General Rumyana Arnaudova told a press briefing, a FOCUS News Agency reporter said.
Yesterday, the law enforcement agencies conducted an operation in Burgas, Kardzhali, Kyustendil, Blagoevgrad, Petrich, Sandanski and Dupnitsa as part of an investigation into intellectual property offences concerning copyright infringements, as well as joint investigations into tax offences, Prosecutor Arnaudova said.
No owners of cable operators have been detained so far, she said. "No charges have been brought up to now, these crimes are complex and need to be proved," the prosecutor said. 
Some 60 TV programmes, foreign and Bulgarian, have been distributed without the permission and consent of the copyright holder, she said.
"We have collected a compelling body of evidence. We have found equipment that allows the distribution of copyright material without the permission of the copyright holder," she said. "We have also detected cash that has not been declared, and we have evidence of tax legislation violations," said Arnaudova, adding that the body of evidence will certainly lead to charges.

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