Value-added tax

After Bulgaria declared a state of emergency because of the coronavirus, fuel consumption dropped by more than 40% in major cities and highways, and nearly 80% in small towns. The situation also creates great discomfort in fuel prices. This is commented on BGNES spokesman of the National Association of Traders and Transporters of Fuel Simo Simov.

The latest budgetary changes adopted by the Bulgarian government are based on the worst case scenario for the development of the COVID-19 crisis, this country's Minister of Finance Vladislav Goranov said. We have developed three different scenarios, but we assume the most negative one, in order to guarantee the functioning of all public systems until the end of 2020.

The government is planning cash injections for both the state coffers and enterprises, as well as a reduction in the tax burden of companies.

Turkey's coronavirus relief package will provide $8-9 billion liquidity to the markets in the next three months, Finance Minister Berat Albayrak said on March 19.

"Turkey's economic growth will exceed expectations in the first quarter, with a slight slowdown in March due to the coronavirus," Albayrak told Anadolu Agency.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has announced an aid package of 100 billion Turkish liras (about $15.4 billion) to help overcome the effects of a coronavirus outbreak.

"Our top priority is that production and employment do not get interrupted. We will get stronger with public and private solidarity. We launch a package that will be a shield for our economy," Erdoğan said.

The legislative act concerning the first batch of measures aimed at tackling the economic impact of the coronavirus epidemic was to be activated on Thursday, and concerns enterprises that have been forced to shut down on government orders for at least 10 days.

As the impact of the new coronavirus grows, especially at the level of the economy, a series of inter-ministerial meetings have been held in recent days focusing on countermeasures to help businesses that have been hit the hardest. 

Athens and the broader metropolitan area are set to see an increase in the property rates used for tax purposes, known as "objective values," according to the provisional figures collected by property surveyors for the Finance Ministry.

The online platform for the new standard debt repayment mechanism opened late on Tuesday, offering debtors twice as many monthly installments (ranging from 24 to 48) for the payment of their dues to the state.

The government will seek to raise the bill of measures aimed at bolstering business activity and increasing investment in Greece up to 2 billion euros.