This time it’s the price Bulgarians pay for services and products from the European Union.
A Bulgarian reader of the IT-news portal Portal.bg has published this information
– Transaction date: 01-01-2007 11:30
– Product name: Skype Credit balance of EUR 25.00
– Total amount: EUR 28.75
In other words – he was a Skype customer (Skype is based in Luxembourg), and when he updated his account on January 1st, he had to pay the 15 % VAT.
That is still 5 % less than what he had to pay in Bulgaria for the same service, but also until January 1st, there was no such tax for Bulgarians, as we were not members of the EU.
This gives me the lead to write that there will be more things to follow:
Bulgarian companies that sell products, which are more expensive than in EU (for example Greece or Romania) will have to lower their prices, or go bankrupt. Thessaloniki is quite close to Sofia (200 km), and with all the big malls and shops there (let’s mention IKEA for furniture), the Bulgarian companies are now facing a real competition. Now is the time to see who will remain on the market, and who will disappear.
Old companies, being run by representatives of the analog generation, for sure will say “bye-bye” to the easy profits, often supported by their friends in the government. New companies, created and managed by young professional Bulgarians and foreigners, will profit and will make a good foundation for expanding their businesses to Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Turkey (at least).
Yes, it’s interesting time to live and do business today in Bulgaria!
Interesting times indeed! Hopefully, in the end, it will be the consumer that wins. I suspect it might be a bumpy ride – there is quite a lot of noise already about increased rates and taxes because of the new regulations.
I hope that more people will see it as a positive move, which it certainly is in the long run. Congratulations!