Икономистът Лъчезар Богданов: Бюджетът е по-скандален, защото всичко е изкарано НАЯВЕ

The 2027 budget plan projects a deficit of 4.3% of GDP.

Lachezar Bogdanov: Without public-sector optimization, the deficit will grow

7468 | 18 Oct. 2026 | 16:45

More effective collection could raise revenues without another tax increase.

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The plan sent by the government to the European Commission sets the 2027 budget deficit at 4.3% of gross domestic product. Lachezar Bogdanov, chief economist at the Institute for Market Economics, clarified that the document is not the full budget but contains its main parameters.

He said the planned reduction in the deficit is to be achieved through a package of measures. These include increases related to excise duties on tobacco products and the taxation of gambling. The largest measure is a proposed excess-profits tax, which Bogdanov described as worrying from a budgetary standpoint.

He said the measure was a one-off and extraordinary approach aimed at selected businesses according to a list. On the spending side, Bogdanov identified two more significant changes. One concerns personnel costs, although it is still unclear how the planned optimization will be carried out in order to generate savings. The government has said that personnel optimization will also take place in the security sector.

The other change concerns a reform of the TELK medical assessment system. Bogdanov said there was still insufficient clarity about what exactly would be changed there.

The economist warned that if optimization in the public sector is not implemented, spending will increase and the deficit will grow with it. The government would then face a choice between allowing a larger deficit and introducing further tax increases.

Bogdanov also said that revenue collection contains a substantial reserve. In his view, more effective work by the tax administration could increase budget revenues without raising tax rates.

“If loopholes for avoiding taxation are closed, collection will be higher without increasing taxes,” he said. In this way, part of the shadow economy would be brought into the open and more money would enter the budget.

Bogdanov described this as an instrument that fiscal policy should rely on to an increasing extent. He said the future approach should focus on collecting what is legally due, including from people and businesses that currently manage to avoid taxation.

Source: fakti.bg