On Tuesday the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (KEVR) surprisingly announced that, instead of the expected 27 percent increase of the price of natural gas for November, the cost of gas will actually fall to around 93 BGN per MWh, a 1.4 percent decrease from October. The caveat is that the decrease will only apply to domestic users and central heating facilities. Industrial users, on the other hand, which account for about half of natural gas consumption, will see a 10 percent hike in their bills, Bulgarian Gas Association chairman Plamen Pavlov told Bulgaria on Air TV channel.
Bulgaria records record Covid deaths and hospitalizations
The health authorities said that there were more than 6,000 newly infected people and 310 deceased in the past 24 hours as the new wave of the Covid-19 pandemic swept the country. More than 8,000 people, of whom more than 90 percent are unvaccinated, currently require medical attention, and 669 are in intensive care.Health Minister Stoycho Katsarov described the situation as "critical" and urged citizens to vaccinate, wear masks and adhere to restrictive measures imposed by the state. Only about 40 percent of nurses and 45 percent of doctors in the country are fully vaccinated, medical union representatives told the media earlier today.
Corporate tax collection rate up 30 percent in October: Revenue Agency
The National Revenue Agency (NRA) collected over 1.15 billion euro in taxes and excise duties in October, a 62 million euro increase compared to the previous month. Total tax revenues for the month amounted to over 650 million euro, with personal income tax amounting to nearly 220 million euro, corporate income tax to over 110 million euro and Value Added Tax - to 325 million. The highest growth was in corporate tax revenues - 30 percent on an annual basis. Revenues from personal income tax increased by nearly 16 percent, while social security contributions grew steadily by almost 10 percent compared to the same period last year, the NRA added. Between the beginning of the year and the end of October the revenue agency has now collected more than 11.2 billion euro, which is 1.1 billion euro more compared to the same period in 2020.
Defense Ministry sends 350 soldiers to Turkish border as migrant pressure increases
Defense Minister Georgi Panayotov told bTV on Tuesday that the army is deploying a 350-strong troop detachment and 40 vehicles to strengthen the perimeter on the Bulgarian-Turkey border. The move comes as increased migrant pressure is forecast against the backdrop of a warmer spell of weather. He added that the border fence in the region is compromised in several places, and that engineering troops will be tasked with bolstering it. At the beginning of October the government allocated 2.5 million euro for urgent repairs of the border fence, expecting an influx of irregular migrants from Afghanistan.
On Tuesday the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (KEVR) surprisingly announced that, instead of the expected 27 percent increase of the price of natural gas for November, the cost of gas will actually fall to around 93 BGN per MWh, a 1.4 percent decrease from October. The caveat is that the decrease will only apply to domestic users and central heating facilities. Industrial users, on the other hand, which account for about half of natural gas consumption, will see a 10 percent hike in their bills, Bulgarian Gas Association chairman Plamen Pavlov told Bulgaria on Air TV channel.
