How do you describe the current business environment in the country? Are any new tax rate or legislation changes influencing it? If so, how?
The biggest news in our business sector is the new Accounting Act, entered into force from 1st of January 2016. The basic concept of the Bulgarian law is syncing with Directive 2013/34 / EC.
The new Act introduces a list of amendments, but it is important to underline one which excludes small entities and sole proprietors that are not subject to mandatory independent financial audit and budgetary organizations from the obligation to publish its P&L reports to the Commercial Register. Only balance sheet will be mandatory for publishing. In fact this amendment will affect more than 95% of the entities in Bulgaria. In my opinion the question now is not whether but how it will affect the transparency and open data in Bulgaria?!
Furthermore, it should be noted that the law introduces substantial fines and financial sanctions up to 10 000 BGN to managers and entities that allow compilation of accounting document and / or reporting of business information that false or distort data on property or financial condition of the company.
What are the biggest benefits for companies to enter the market in 2016?
Bulgaria offers a good combination of political and macroeconomic stability and strategic geographical position with easy access to Southeast Europe, Middle East and North Africa markets.
The lowest taxes and the lowest labor costs in the EU, combined with special incentives for investors attract investors in 2016. For the new programming period 2014-2020 EU funding is over 8 billion EUR from EU funds.
What are the key goals for Leinonen in the market in 2016?
The Bulgarian office now is concentrated in strengthening the Advisory Unit and providing wider range of professional consulting services to its customers. Our services include consultations on: tax planning, application of Double Taxation Agreements (DTA), formation of a “ permanent “ establishment, VAT specific issues, applicable social security legislation in cross-border situations, preparation of financial Due Diligence, business plans etc.
