A total of BGN 28.2 billion is the revenue of the National Revenue Agency in 2021, which is BGN 778 million more than planned and more than BGN 3.2 billion more than in the previous 2020. The growth of voluntary compliance with tax and social security legislation by businesses and citizens, and revenues to the treasury are also growing steadily, the NRA said. In 2021, the revenues for the central budget amount to a total of BGN 16.5 billion, which is nearly 15% more than in the previous 2020. Of these, over BGN 8.3 billion are the revenues from value added tax, which are also with the highest growth compared to last year - over BGN 900 million, according to the National Revenue Agency. More than BGN 3.2 billion were paid by businesses for corporate taxes, and BGN 4.2 billion were from personal income tax, which is 15.7% more than in 2020. The total amount of Revenues from social security contributions are BGN 11.7 billion, of which BGN 7 billion are for state social insurance, BGN 3 billion - for health insurance contributions and BGN 1.7 billion - for additional mandatory pension insurance .

According to the BNB Budget for 2022 published in the last days of 2021, the Central Bank plans its expenditures for maintenance of money circulation this year to reach BGN 28.04 mln or 20.6% of the total maintenance expenditures of the Bank. 2021 decreased by 18.1%. In its report, the BNB explained that the expenditures in question were related to the effective performance of its functions under the BNB Act and to the improvement of the organization of issuing cash to achieve quality service to banks and other BNB clients and to ensure security of money circulation. . In determining the required amount of banknotes and coins for 2022, their demand is taken into account, the replacement of banknotes worn out in circulation and the maintenance of the necessary reserve of banknotes and coins. The expenses for new banknotes amount to BGN 10.27 mln and decrease by 54.3% compared to the planned ones for 2021.

The government intends to abandon the idea of ​​building a steam and gas plant on the site of the coal-fired power generation facilities in the Maritsa East complex. There may not be such plant due to problems with the supply of gas, which is already considered by Brussels as a transitional fuel, and the grant funding for such projects is questionable. Therefore, a longer-term solution to reduce harmful gases will be proposed. The latest version of the projects in the Bulgarian Recovery and Sustainability Plan, under which Bulgaria expects over BGN 12.6 billion in EU subsidies, provided for the EC to provide a BGN 1 billion subsidy for replacement gas capacity of 1000 MW at the TPP Maritza East 2 site. However, the plan has been heavily criticized by Brussels - mainly because of the desire for coal-fired power plants to operate until 2038, and even after 2040, and will be reworked again. The measure with the sought-after other solution to reduce air pollution will be recorded in the next revision of the National Plan for Recovery and Sustainability, which the government intends to present by mid-January.

The only route for the supply of Azeri natural gas to Bulgaria, according to the contract with Azerbaijan, is the IGB (Greece-Bulgaria gas interconnection) pipeline, which has not been built. Its construction is the responsibility of the Greek-Bulgarian company ICGB JSC. Bulgargaz SPJSC cannot influence this process, but it is suffering the negative consequences of the delay in its construction. Thus, Bulgargaz answers why Bulgaria receives only part of the agreed quantities of natural gas from Azerbaijan. According to their letter, in 2020 the Azeri supplier will start deliveries via the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline to the connection point to Komotini's IGB, but the IGB pipeline has not been built. In this situation, Bulgargaz not only cannot receive natural gas under the contract, but is also threatened with penalties. The Azeri company, for its part, is neither obliged to supply gas through a pipeline other than the IGB, nor is it obliged to supply all the quantities it would supply via the IGB. After the launch of the IGB gas pipeline has been postponed several times, Bulgargaz has agreed to receive gas from another gas pipeline, nearly 300 km from the IGB (via the Greek gas transmission network DESFA). Currently, Bulgargaz receives the quantities that the Azerbaijani supplier has agreed to deliver. Obtaining the full amount of the contractual quantities of the alternative gas pipeline depends entirely on the will and capabilities of the Azerbaijani side.

The Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) has adopted a decision abolishing the premiums of producers of electricity from renewable sources with a total installed capacity of 500 kW and more from 1 January 2022. These are power plants with long-term contracts signed before 2013, which receive preferential prices from the state to repay investments, which were very high at the time. From the New Year, however, almost all producers will be left without such preferences. The reason is that the exchange prices of electricity are high enough and the state does not have to support the RES sector further. In this case, the EWRC has decided to change the so-called estimated market price, which serves as the basis for determining the premiums in question. From the current BGN 119 / mWh it becomes BGN 293.37 / mWh.

The largest courier company in the country - Econt, has payed to the NRA BGN 13 million in the days before Christmas, it became clear from a statement by the company. Although the company won the lawsuit in the first instance, filed by the NRA for VAT obligations for the period 2016-2019, the amount was transferred to the tax authorities. The main arguments for this action of the company are economic, socio-political, moral and personal. Economic arguments include high costs, deposits and years of litigation. On the other hand, the new socio-political situation in the country leads the partners to the conviction that from the autumn of 2021 the funds entering the state budget will be spent openly and only for the benefit of Bulgaria's taxpayers.

Bulgarian diversified group Bulgartabac Holding said that its consolidated net profit, excluding minority interest, fell to BGN 5.9 million in 2020 from some BGN 21.7 million in 2019. The group's profit after taxes, including interest attributable to other shareholders in Bulgartabac's units, plummeted to just BGN 382,000 in 2020 from BGN 24.3 million in 2019. Bulgartabac's consolidated revenue decreased to BGN 160.8 million in 2020 from BGN 423.4 million the year before, while expenses dropped to BGN 159.7 million from BGN 398.6 million. Shares in Bulgartabac Holding last closed on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange at a price of BGN 9.70. In 2017, the group sold its biggest cigarette brands for more than EUR 100 million to British American Tobacco (BAT).

Factories in Europe and the United States report a mild decrease in supply chain problems and concomitant cost increases in late 2021. However, the spread of the new coronavirus threatens to worsen labor and supply shortages, according to The Wall Street Journal. Since the end of 2020, factories around the world have run into shortages. The increase in demand for goods such as laptops and bicycles was surprising and came at a time when supplies and other parts of the supply chain were in disarray. The shortage has held back growth and helped raise consumer prices. Central banks around the world hope that these problems will weaken this year thanks to more sustainable demand for goods and increased supply. Which in turn will lower prices without the need for a sharp rise in interest rates. Despite the improvement, American and European businesses reported slightly slower growth in December. In the US, the index fell 0.6 points to 57.7, the slowest pace in 2021. In Europe, the decline was 0.4 points to 58. 

For the first time since 1931, General Motors Co. isn’t the top-selling automaker in the U.S. The Detroit-based company lost its crown to Japanese rival Toyota Motor Corp., which boosted sales 10 per cent last year despite a 28 per cent decline in the fourth quarter. With 2.3 million units sold in the U.S. in 2021, Toyota narrowly outpaced GM’s 2.2 million. The Japanese carmaker said outselling GM likely isn’t sustainable. “That is not our goal,” Jack Hollis, a senior vice president in charge of U.S. sales for Toyota, said on a conference call with reporters. The change at the top reflects the volatility of a year many carmakers will be happy to leave behind. From snarled shipping lines to semiconductor shortages, the challenges of 2021 left manufacturers struggling to keep up with demand. While industrywide sales likely rose modestly from 2020, supply constraints shattered any hope of a quick recovery from the early pandemic slump. 

China has released pilot versions of its e-CNY digital yuan digital wallet applications. This is a step towards the mass adoption of local CBDC (central bank digital currency). The "e-CNY (Pilot Version)" application is now ready for download from Chinese app stores for Android and Apple. The applications were developed by the National Bank of China's Digital Currency Research Institute. They are still under development and are currently only available to select users through institutions that provide e-CNY services, including China's largest banks. Late last year, the People's Bank of China announced that it would continue to research and develop e-CNY. The project was announced in September 2021 with plans to release the digital currency by February 2022. In recent months, e-CNY has been tested in five cities and has made transactions worth USD 9.7 billion. The National Bank intends to use the digital currency for online and offline shopping, as well as for paying bills and transportation fees.