Protests against the position of the International Monetary Fund in Bulgaria (IMF) were voiced in a letter sent by the Bulgarian Union of Employers (BUE) on Sunday.

"The electorate voted for the economic measures of the current Bulgarian government, not for the measures recommended by the IMF," the business people wrote in the letter to IMF executive director Johannes Wijnholds and first deputy managing director Anne Krueger. A copy was sent to the director of the First European Department of the IMF, Michael Deppler.

Relieving reinvested profit from corporate taxation was emphasized as a crucial prerequisite for faster economic growth. Bulgarian employers expressed their concern that "the latest IMF recommendations would result in stimulating the grey economy and encouraging corruption."

The demands of the IMF in Bulgaria were described as "dangerous" and the position of the mission as "forceful." The Bulgarian business people commented in their letter that the fund was careful and avoided unpopular measures during the former government's rule, and is now compensating for that with unnecessary harshness and inflexibility.

"This is quite dangerous as it might harm the government's reputation among the electorate, reduce confidence in it and lead to political instability," the board of directors of BUE wrote.

Many companies have already prepared their investment programs for the following year, bearing in mind the measures that the government has promised to take, and relying especially on the tax reductions.

The IMF is insisting on a gradual decrease of profit taxation. Finance Minister Milen Velchev said that it might take several years before the promise of zero taxes on reinvested profit becomes a reality.

"It is not reasonable to build business plans for next year on the basis of laws that are likely to be changed in the future," commented Velchev, before leaving for a meeting with IMF officials in Washington on Monday.

In Washington, Velchev faces the hard task of protecting the government's economic program in discussions with Jerald Schiff, the head of the fund's mission for Bulgaria, and other top IMF officials.

In an interview for Pari daily on Tuesday, the finance minister said that it would not be fatal if Bulgaria was not financed by the IMF, more important is the presence of an agreement, no matter whether it is protective or financing. Velchev said that securing this agreement would guarantee $250 million in loans from the World Bank over the next three years.