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Bansko Business Park
p/bansko-business-parkIncrease employee happiness and net salary at lower costs
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Matthias E Zeitler

Bansko Business Park - Increase employee happiness and net salary at lower costs

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The target market is mid-sized businesses and scale-ups operating in major European cities that want to open an office in Bansko, a mountain resort in Bulgaria, to increase employee happiness, retention and productivity - with lower costs and less taxes.

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Matthias E Zeitler
Maker
I founded a coworking space in Bansko with the goal of building a hub for digital nomads who wanted to take advantage of the low cost of living, the flat 10% income tax, and the incredible scenery. Since then, over 25 members joined the coworking space and moved their residency to Bansko, and now the community averages 40 members, all of which came here from outside of Bansko. The base assumption for the Bansko Business Park project is: If Bansko is so attractive to digital nomads for an incredible place to live and work, those same factors should also be make Bansko attractive to businesses with satellite or non-customer-facing office needs. What do you think? is this the future of work?
Neil Cocker
Where do you see Bansko in 20 years time, Matthias? It's a great lifestyle town (skiing, hiking, mountain air etc), but can it be an economic business force, too?
Matthias E Zeitler
Maker
@neilcocker I think this is a bigger question: What is the role of rural areas and smaller towns in the future? Are we all going to live in mega cities or will people prefer and be able to live and work from wherever? On a grand scale it could go either way and experts make convincing predictions for both scenarios. On our small Bansko scale I think there are more than enough people and companies that can benefit from the clean natural environment, the existing tourism infrastructure and legislative environment.
Neil Cocker
@matthiaszeitler Great! I think better transport links with Sofia, rather than just the mountain road, would help, too.
Matthias E Zeitler
Maker
@neilcocker They are already working on it. In Sofi the ring road is getting improved and from Blagoevgrad to Simitli is under construction as part of the highway to Thessaloniki. My best time Bansko to Sofia airport is 2 hours 15 minutes. With the current construction projects finished this will go down to 2 hours soon. (next year) And then I hope at some point in the future the road Simitli - Bansko will become a highway. This could cut it to 90 minutes. (5 years)
Neil Cocker
@matthiaszeitler This is exciting news! I loved Bansko, but it always felt like a trek to get there from Sofia.
James Hunt
Great idea for Bansko, I’ve visited and it seems a great place to do this! From a corporate perspective, what’s the business tax rate? Any exclusions for foreign income? Is their a talent pool of workers from Bulgaria in or near Bansko?
Matthias E Zeitler
Maker
@thetwopct The corporate tax rate is 10% flat, same as the personal income tax rate. Foreign income is taxed at 10% when distributed. Bulgaria does not have CFC rules, so if the foreign profit is not distributed, then it is not taxed. For exact details best to check with a tax professional. For highly qualified jobs in IT one of the best universities in Bulgaria is 50km away in Blagoevgrad and also Sofia has multiple great universities.