Restaurant Industry to Block Roads in Bulgaria Over VAT Increase

• Restaurant industry representatives will block intersections and roads in Bulgaria to protest the increase in VAT.
• The protest will start tomorrow and will involve representatives from over 30 cities.
• The protest is a result of the industry’s calls for a meeting with the government to discuss proposals for increasing tax collection and arguments for keeping the 9 percent VAT rate.
• The industry claims that the VAT increase will lead to bankruptcies, increase the gray economy, and not generate the expected revenue for the state budget.
• Restaurants in Bulgaria symbolically turned off their lights and music for nine minutes over the weekend to demand a 9 percent VAT rate.
• The protest will continue until the parliament adopts the 2025 budget.
• The industry is planning national protests across the country and may seek support from other sectors.
• Restaurant and hotel employees from Veliko Tarnovo will block the Sofia-Varna road for half an hour tomorrow to demand the restoration of the 9 percent VAT rate.

Source: bta.bg

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.

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