Tourism Regulations in Bulgaria to Meet European Standarts
Sofia Echo Com, 21.03.2006
One of the main problems for the development of the Bulgarian tourism sector is related to taxation policies and the degree to which they correspond to European regulations, President Georgi Purvanov said. Today Purvanov and Finance Minister Plamen Oresharski met representatives of tourism companies, Focus news agency reported. The acceptance of European tourism norms should still maintain the competitiveness of the Bulgarian sector, Purvanov said. With the entrance in the EU competition to the Bulgarian tourism sector will increase, said Purvanov. Both the interest of foreign and Bulgarian tourists should be considered when changes are implemented, Purvanov said. Representatives of tourism companies said the problem of value added taxation (VAT) persists. At the moment VAT is 20 per cent. Tourism packages abroad are offered with a seven per cent VAT. To equalise the two levels the tourism packages offered would become significantly more expensive, company representatives said. The expected price increase will minimise the competitiveness of Bulgarian tourism offers, company representatives said.
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