Officials of the IMF will arrive for a new regular mission tomorrow aimed at scrutinising the government fiscal programme for next year and the budget performance at the end of this year.
The Fund will reportedly insist on new measures for curbing the rapid credit growth, which has remained close to the nominal annual rate of 50% despite a series of restrictions supposed to slow the growth to some 35%. Some of the rumoured new measures include introduction of an income floor for credit recipients as well as further limitations on external financing to bank loans.
On the fiscal side, the IMF is concerned about the revenue and expenditure hikes in the budget projections for next year stemming from political negotiations for raising the education expenditures by BGN 135mn (EUR 69mn or 0.3% of GDP) next year.
The IMF will separately push the government and the lawmakers to delay the excise tax charges on LPG sales to households until 2006 and to lower the planned 25% increase of the minimum wage. As recalled, the government is implementing a 2-year pre-cautionary standby agreement for SDR 100mn expiring on September 5, 2006.