Bulgaria's new national sport

The Bulgarian press is reporting a crackdown on tax evasion by that country's wealthy elites. According to The Sofia Echo, officials are using helicopters to inspect luxury properties, many built without the appropriate planning permissions, which are ostensibly owned by companies but occupied by people evading tax on their wealth. Prime Minister Boiko Borissov has suggested that such properties should either be demolished or confiscated.

Tax evasion is endemic in this former communist country. Corruption is rampant and the tax authorities do not have the high level political support required to tackle the politically dominant wealthy elites. According to the head of the National Review Agency, Krasimir Stefanov, "It is time to cut back on what has become a national sport in the past 20 years – massive tax evasion."