The minimum insurance for farmers will be BGN 710.
The maximum insurance income will rise from BGN 3,000 to BGN 3,400 from April 1. This was accepted by the deputies at the second reading of the bill on state social security after two hours of disputes.
The MRF and GERB-UDF remained the only ones defending the proposal to keep it frozen this year. At the first reading in the plenary hall, Ivaylo Mirchev from the DB said that they would make a proposal to postpone the lifting until at least July 1 in order to work out a mechanism.
The decision to raise the maximum insurance income is without calculations, without discussions with the business. And 50 formulas to come up with will not make the measure right, nor will there be predictability, as you raise it now that the year has already begun, said Petar Chobanov from the MRF. He also quoted the chairman of the Bulgarian Association of Software Companies as saying that this was a “fundamentally wrong strategic direction” and “a punitive action against workers on normal wages does not look good”.
This does not provide a predictable environment and makes it difficult for companies. We have a government that won the election with one announcement, and now it is doing the opposite, said Ivan Totev of GERB-UDF.
The problem is not that the maximum insurance income is increasing, but that there is no justice, said Hasan Ademov from the MRF and asked where are the mechanisms for raising it, which are promised to business.
The IT sector must be supported not only by freezing the maximum insurance income, but also by other policies. A breakthrough in artificial intelligence could replace 10,000 jobs, Krassimir Valchev of GERB-UDF said. And he explained that we do not have enough developed industries to catch up with developing countries.
Do not reach out to the IT sector, because it works very well and without state intervention, said Nastimir Ananiev from “We continue the change”. His party colleague Iskren Mitev explained that it is not true that no meetings were held with the business. Why in 2019 you raised the maximum insurance income by 15%, and now, when we raise it by 13%, you object so sharply “, GERB Mitev asked.
A 20-minute break followed, followed by Hristo Gadzhev of GERB, who explained that social security income was not a tax, but the proposal would affect the middle class. And now it turns out that there are left-wing policies and I am sorry that “Democratic Bulgaria” will support these left-wing goals, he added. According to him, this will lead to a bad environment for business and to “criminal action”.
I did not know that the right-wing policy is to conceal income and have a low pension as much as you work – that’s your rate, I did not know that the right-wing policy is to work for BGN 7,000, and where to insure for BGN 3,000, said the chairman. the BSP parliamentary group Georgi Svilenski.
You have broken the pension model in such a way that it makes no sense to insure a person. This is the left, Gadzhev replied.
I want to explain the position of the DB and its evolution. We categorically said that we are against raising the maximum insurance income and it became clear that we are a minority. In November, the IT sector first heard that it would rise and began to consider. They said they were ready to accept it if there was a mechanism. We agreed to find a formula after measuring seven times before cutting. And the place of the formula is in CSR, where the Swiss rule is, explained Georgi Ganev from “Democratic Bulgaria”.
Why didn’t you introduce a mechanism, and now you are raising it, Gadzhev asked.
We are working on a formula that updates the maximum insurance income, as the Swiss pension rule. I will explain to you why there was an increase first on some good beer, Ganev replied. And he explained that it is more important for them whether there will be places for their children in kindergarten, and whether there will be racketeering on their companies. I would like no tax to be raised by wolves and to nullify them, Ganev added.
The big problem is not BGN 30, which will be paid, but the lack of roads and kindergartens, and we agreed to work in this direction. This is BGN 80 million, which in your opinion is not much, but where to get them, asked Iskren Mitev from the PP.
The deputies also voted for the minimum insurance for farmers to be raised from BGN 420 to BGN 710. The proposal of GERB-UDF to insure it to BGN 470 was rejected. The same happened to that of the MRF for BGN 460.
We do not accept the proposal to raise the minimum insurance income for farmers. There was an unprecedented crisis in the sector, feed prices rose and so did energy prices, and there was no compensation for them, explained Desislava Taneva, a former agriculture minister and GERB-UDF MP. According to her, the arguments of the government are correct, but to stay for next year. According to Rumen Hristov, with this sharp step people will go to the gray sector, but they will also give up agricultural activity, and this will lead to the depopulation of settlements.
Vladimir Marinov of the BSP called for an end to populism and to scare people. He reminded that in recent years GERB has proposed raising the minimum insurance for farmers “at the request of your MRF partners”.
Colleague, if I were you, I will sit down to read, you entered the parliament yesterday, and in two official cabinets and one regular one – you did not make a decision for the sector. Not a single lev is compensated for them. I have always defended the minimum insurance income, but this was not because of the MRF, but with the conviction that small farmers are the most vulnerable. And I have always argued with our Minister of Finance, Taneva replied.
It is easiest to link GERB and MRF, but we have always been consistent in this policy, and now you have reversed your position to be politically correct when you are in opposition, Hassan Ademov told Taneva. He asked why justice is not sought for retirees on the minimum pension, because 70% of them can not really get it.
The MRF’s proposal to have the minimum insurance for the self-insured to be BGN 650 instead of BGN 710 was rejected. Hasan Ademov explained that in this way the middle class will be affected in a year of crisis. This affected 210,000 people.
After two hours of debates on this article alone, Lubomir Karimanski of the ITN suggested ending the discussion, as it did not provide new arguments. The MRF immediately made the opposite proposal – to continue the debate. The majority backed Karimanski, but disputes continued before the final vote.
The first disputes started with the title of the bill. According to GERB-UDF, it should be in three months, because an update is scheduled for July 1. Then the MRF reminded again that this is a budget for pizza eaten, which does not exist. They warned that inflation will reach double-digit growth this year. Analogies with Marie Antoinette’s pastes followed and the price of cucumbers was reached.
I can’t help but take the floor when untruths are told from the rostrum. It is true that pensions in 2008 were increased by current insurance income. GERB must remain silent because they have not updated their pensions for 12 years and keep them at miserable levels. For three years, they did not update Swiss pensions, breaking the law, but explaining it with the recession. If they had done that, it would have led to an increase of 15-16%, not to say – 20%, the Minister of Social Affairs Georgi Gokov joined the discussion.
They drive us into a frenzy of illusions that deceive retirees. There is constant talk about these 12 years, but there were other rulers during them, said Denitsa Sacheva from GERB-UDF from the rostrum. He reminded that the pensions had been increased during the internship during the years in question. We will see what you will do on June 30 and whether you will find justice, she added.
Everyone in this room who has an idea of insurance policies has no right to talk about the insurance burden. Everyone in this room has no right to offer solutions for different groups of people through the insurance system. I have been in the parliament for 7 years and I hear about a planned increase in social security contributions for farmers, but there was none. There is no way for them to stay on low social security contributions and for others to increase, said the Minister of Social Affairs.
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