ИСТОРИЯ И СЪВРЕМЕННИ ПРЕДИЗВИКАТЕЛСТВА НА ВАУЧЕРИ ЗА ХРАНА В БЪЛГАРИЯ. ИЗСЛЕДВАНЕ НА ДАНЪЧНИТЕ, СОЦИАЛНО-ПОЛИТИЧЕСКИТЕ И МАКРО КОНТЕКСТИТЕ НА СИСТЕМАТА
HISTORY AND CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES OF THE FOOD VOUCHERЯ IN BULGARIA. A STUDY OF THE FISCAL, SOCIO-POLITICAL, AND MACRO CONTEXTS OF THE SYSTEM

Summary/Abstract: The first part of the study examines various macroeconomic parameters of the food voucher system in Bulgaria from its introduction in 2004 to 2026. Here, the system’s framework is analyzed (in comparison with other EU countries) and extrapolations are made to 2028.In the second part of the study, food vouchers are examined in the context of voluntariness in fulfilling tax obligations according to the NSI’s observations of household budgets from 2014 to 2024. This analysis is complemented by an overview of the tax statuses of employers (through unit labor costs) and “low wage” workers (according to the EUROSTAT definition).Next comes the analysis of the fiscal effects of food vouchers from their introduction to the present day, and they are compared in terms of economic efficiency with other forms of social policy. The effects are calculated over a long period, not just as an immediate budget expense for the current fiscal year. The analysis of the so-called "tax wedge" for different wage thresholds using vouchers allows us to explain both the attractiveness of the system and the insignificance of the budget expenditure compared to the benefits, especially for low-wage workers.The fourth part of the study deals with the assessment of the "whitening" effect of the food voucher system on the "grey economy". The following phenomena are described and analyzed: the behavior of the "VAT hole" for the entire period after 20024, the cash volume of the total voucher quota as a percentage of money in circulation and as a share in unreported trade in food products and non-alcoholic beverages.The last part draws conclusions and recommendations that allow us to preserve the positive economic and fiscal impacts of the system, in the context of its decreasing shares in GDP in recent years and increasing risks to the voluntariness of the fulfillment of obligations. To present the conclusions in a comparative perspective, an appendix is included to this section describing similar voucher systems in France and Romania.Due to the large volume and the model nature of the study, it begins here with a summary of the content of these five parts. To present the conclusions in a comparative perspective, the study is accompanied by results from a recent study of the attitude of beneficiaries of the system towards food vouchers (Appendix 1) and a description of the features and impacts of similar voucher systems in France and Romania (Appendix 2).

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