New Plan for Taxing Waste Disposal

The payment of a "garbage fee" changes dramatically. The current principle on which the municipality's waste of garbage was formed is based on the tax assessment of the property, but this method remains in the past. Instead, the polluter pays principle is introduced. Such a decision was taken today by the Council of Ministers, which approved amendments to the Local Taxes and Fees Act. It introduces a completely new principle in determining the amount of the waste collection fee, on the basis of which the municipalities will calculate the amount. There is going to be a uniform methodology for determining the costs that form the municipal waste tax, ensuring publicity and transparency through the obligation to conduct public consultations on the determination of the costs of the fees and the protection of the environment.

The municipalities themselves will have the freedom to determine exactly how each of them will determine how much "waste" will be collected from each property. However, the mandatory principle is that everyone pays as much as they throw out. Local authorities are given the opportunity to identify specific garbage bags with a specific volume. Thus, for each occupant of the property there will be a specific number of such bags. The total amount that will have to be collected from the property will also depend on the number of inhabitants - respectively the number of disposed waste bags.

Municipalities are also offered an alternative. Instead of being based on the number of discarded garbage bags, it would be determined on the basis of the volume of the containers or waste bins in which they are collected. In this situation, it will also be taken into account how often the vessels in question must be emptied.

The new garbage fee will have a third component - maintaining and preserving the cleanliness of the areas for public use. In this way, every citizen will have to spend money on companies or employees involved in the cleaning of streets, sidewalks, gardens, playgrounds, etc. But it will be determined separately and everyone will know how much the municipality pays for this service.

However, it is not yet clear from the bill whether people will pay more or less for their garbage fees. It is not excluded that in some cases it will increase and in others it will decrease. All of this, however, also depends on the municipalities themselves, which independently determine the amount of this local tax. It is not certain and when the new size principle will come into force, it is suggested it would be as early as next year.

In other countries where the principle of determining the amount of toll charged according to the amount of waste dumped is often the method used in shops, municipal offices or other similar places. The amount the user pays for them is in practice a "garbage fee". Thus, depending on size of the bag and how much household waste is discarded, everyone pays different sum on an annual basis. inews.bg

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