With two months left until the end of the year, the collection of some of the main taxes is significantly lagging behind the targets set in the budget. Data from the Ministry of Finance (MF) on budget execution as of the end of October show that VAT revenues have reached only 70% of the planned amount, while corporate tax revenues stand at 69%.

For the ten months of the year, the budget has received 17.432 billion leva from VAT. This is 15.6% more than in the same period of the previous year, but still far below the projected annual growth of 33%. According to forecasts by the Ministry of Finance itself, nearly 3 billion leva of the planned revenues under this item will not be collected by the end of the year.

The lag is particularly strong in VAT revenues from imports ? receipts amount to 5.493 billion leva by the end of October, which is almost unchanged compared to a year earlier. This concerns imports of goods from countries outside the European Union, and the decline is mainly due to lower imports of oil and fuels resulting from the reduced capacity of the Burgas refinery and falling oil prices.

VAT revenues from domestic transactions have reached 11.938 billion leva, an increase of 2.335 billion leva or 24.3% year-on-year.

Corporate tax revenues as of October 2025 amount to 4.560 billion leva, which is only 69% of the planned amount for the entire year. Even the extraordinary 500 million leva collected from banks? profit tax, due in 2026, fails to offset the significant shortfall.

The only tax category performing according to schedule is personal income tax. In the first ten months, the budget has received 6.825 billion leva, representing 85.6% of the annual plan. This is a 16% increase compared to the previous year, supported by higher incomes, including the administrative increase of the minimum wage and higher pay in both the public and private sectors. Data show that in the second and third quarters of 2025, the average salary in the public sector exceeds that in the private sector.

The only tax expected to exceed its target is the tax on dividends received by individuals. Revenues from this item reached 653.9 million leva as of October, which is 100.3% of the plan and 10% more than the previous year. According to the Ministry of Finance, the growth is mainly the result of legislative and control measures undertaken over the past two years.