According to data from the National Revenue Agency for 2021, 3,034,171 people declared taxable income. This is more than the working Bulgarians, who are about 2.3 million people, because tax is also paid by people who are outside the labor market - for example, tenants, contractors under civil contracts, etc. Income worth up to the amount of the minimum wage, which in 2021 was BGN 650, was received by 1,491,960 people, which is 49% of those who reported to the National Revenue Agency. 64.9% of people (1,969,733 people) took up to BGN 1,000 per month. Up to BGN 2,000 per month – 86.9% of people (2,635,975 people). This means that only about 13% of Bulgarians received more than BGN 2,000 per month in 2021, if tax-free income such as pensions, social benefits, scholarships are not counted. For comparison, in 2019 only 8.55% of Bulgarians received official incomes above this amount. In 2018, there were even fewer Bulgarians earning over BGN 2,000 - 7.2% of people with taxable income. Thus, in 2021, 211,740 people (6.98% of people) received between BGN 2,000 and BGN 3,000 per month, and between BGN 3,000 and BGN 10,000 - 163,337 people (5.38%). Over BGN 10,000 taxable income per month in 2021 was received by only 0.76% of people or 23,119 people.

Bulgaria expects about BGN 1 billion for projects under the RePowerEU program of the European Union, which provides for a reduction of dependence on fossil fuels from Russia, announced the Acting Minister of Energy Rosen Hristov. Projects under this new program will be integrated into the Recovery Plan and is an option to renegotiate options in the document. Currently, projects related to energy efficiency, low-carbon fuels - green hydrogen, and others are being prepared, which will reduce our dependence on natural gas imports.

The company "VITTE Automotive Bulgaria", which produces locking systems and other products for cars, will double its production capacity in Ruse, announced the manager of the company Hristo Hristov. On this occasion, Hristov and the mayor of Ruse, Pencho Milkov, signed a contract for the purchase and sale of 2 acres of property, which is privately owned by the municipality. A new company building will be built on the site. The beginning of construction activities will be set in the middle of the year, and the deadline for implementation is 12 months. This is the second expansion of the company after 2019. The reasons for it are high productivity, significant growth in turnover, which reached 183 million euros in last year. The main clients of the company are automobile companies such as "Mercedes-Benz", "Volkswagen", "BMW" and "Volvo". The company now has about 1,100 employees. After the expansion, another 300 people will be hired. The intentions of the management are for the turnover to reach 400 million euros, and by then the employees will be 1,500-1,600.

The Commission for Protection of Competition has allowed "M Rent" EAD - Sofia to acquire sole independent control over "Eurolease - Rent a Car" Ltd - Sofia. The buyer carries out activities related to the provision of motor vehicles under the conditions of operational leasing, short-term rental of motor vehicles (rent-a-car), fleet management, as well as insurance mediation as an insurance broker. Direct independent control over "M Rent" is exercised by the sole owner of its capital "Leasing Finance" EAD. The main activity of "Eurolease - Rent a Car" is renting cars, as well as providing technical support for customers who have signed a long-term rental contract. The sole owner of its capital is "Eurolease Group" JSC - Sofia. "M Rent" and "Eurolease - Rent a Car" do not exercise control over other companies registered in the country. The two companies have concluded a preliminary contract for the purchase and sale of all shares of the capital of "Eurolease - Rent a Car". One of the conditions for the completion of the planned transaction is obtaining a permit from the Commission for the Protection of Competition.

The Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) has finally confirmed the revocation of four licenses of "Eurofootball" and "National Lottery". The judicial panels of the SAC accept that, within the terms set by the State Gambling Commission, the two companies did not take action to repay or secure the overdue public receivables established by the NRA - for "Eurofootball" in the amount of BGN 328,882,670.98 in total (principal - BGN 261,164,891.87 and interest - BGN 69,304,242.84) and for the "National Lottery" - for two acts for establishing public state receivables with a total value of BGN 14,945,470.83 principal and BGN 4,015,495.73 .interest.

The Bulgarian retail chain Fantastico Group will invest around BGN 3 million this year to install two rooftop photovoltaic systems for its own needs, bringing the total to 14. The investment is part of over BGN 5 million, designed to increase energy efficiency over the next 12 months. The company's 12 existing rooftop solar installations, with a total rated output of 1,600 kWp, are expected to generate 1,800 MWh of green energy in 2023. This is nearly 10% of the total consumption needs of the supermarkets where the systems are installed. When all 14 plants are operational in 2024, Fantastico expects to produce around 4,200 MWh of electricity. Fantastico Group manages 45 supermarkets, most of which are located in Sofia, with a few in cities around the capital. The company also manages two restaurants from the MyChoice chain, the multi-functional entertainment center JOY STATION, the MegaXtreme chain of bowling alleys and the 27,000 square meter locations in the "Geo Milev" district of the SkyCity Mall shopping center.

AES Galabovo thermal power plant provided a record amount of electricity for Bulgarian consumers in 2022. The two power units of the most modern coal plant in Bulgaria produced over 3,561,665 MWh of electricity last year. This is the largest annual production since the plant was put into commercial operation in 2011. The electricity generated in 2022 by the AES Galabovo TPP is about 8% more than the amount produced in 2021. In this way, the plant provided 9% of the total consumed electricity in Bulgaria. Thus, in 2022, every tenth kilowatt hour of electricity consumed in Bulgaria was produced by Bulgarian lignite coal at the AES Galabovo thermal power plant. AES Bulgaria is the largest investor in the energy sector in Bulgaria. The company is the owner and operator of the newest and most modern thermal power plant in South-Eastern Europe - TPP AES Galabovo and is the majority owner and operator of the largest wind farm in the country - "Sveti Nikola", near Kavarna.

The sharp decline in the value of office buildings in the United States is likely to become a growing problem for the budgets of cities, schools and other institutions that depend heavily on the property taxes paid by the owners of these buildings, writes the Wall Street Journal. For a variety of reasons, property price declines are usually reflected in most IRS property assessments years later. Property taxes are the single largest expense for most office owners. Many hope it will be scaled back to make up for lost revenue from the sluggish return of office workers and the growing damage it's causing to local businesses that serve those workers. Recently, job cuts in the tech sector have reduced the demand for workspaces. At agencies that reassess property values annually, homeowner requests for tax assessments are up 30% to 40% from a typical year before the pandemic, reports Brian Frey, managing director of property assessments at consultancy CBRE. If building owners' requests for reassessments to lower their tax costs are successful, cities, schools, neighborhoods and other jurisdictions could face difficult decisions about whether to cut jobs or programs or find other ways to raise revenue. Many local authorities are adjusting to falling business property prices by automatically raising property taxes. This process is likely to accelerate in 2023 and beyond.

Real wages in Japan fell in December at their fastest pace in eight years under pressure from rising inflation, according to a Labor Ministry report cited by DPA. December's year-on-year decline was 3.8 percent, following November's 2.9 percent year-on-year decline. The decrease is for the eighth month in a row, BTA reported. The data also show that in December, inflation in Japan exceeded a 40-year high and was well above the Bank of Japan's desired threshold of 2 percent.