Value added tax (VAT) may drop to 18% from 20% by the end of the year, depending on the country's budget performance, deputy prime minister and finance minister Simeon Dyankov said over the weekend.
If the government opts to bring down VAT, it would do so in two steps - first to 19% and then to 18%, Dyankov said on Saturday, as quoted by the Bulgarian National Television (BNT).
A reduction of the tax would mean that some 500 million levs less would enter the fisc, but the overall effect on consumption would be beneficial, the finance minister added.
Tax revenues so far this year are higher than a year ago, giving grounds as early as May to consider steps that would lead to an increase in Bulgarians' incomes, Dyankov said.
Dyankov also said that as long he is finance minister, Bulgaria will have a flat tax rate.