May 2018 / Bulgaria

On 18 May 2018, a proposal was submitted to the parliament for the introduction of a new annual local tax for residential properties that are not the primary home of the taxable person and are situated in resorts. In addition, it is proposed to exclude from the scope of the new tax properties that are rented or registered as tourist sites under the Tourism Act. The suggested tax rates are as follows:

• for residential properties in sea/mountain resorts of national importance: 0.5%-0.7% of the tax value of the immovable property; and
• for residential properties in other resorts: 0.2%-0.4% of the tax value of the immovable property.

As a next step, the proposal will be discussed and voted on by the parliament. Further developments will be reported in due course.

On 1 May 2018, HMRC launched a portal to its collection, Tax avoidance: enablers. The collection includes:

• information on who HMRC classes as an enabler of tax avoidance;
• information on penalties; and
• a checklist of what to do if one may be liable to a penalty for enabling tax avoidance.