Bulgaria's Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg and ruling Simeon II National Movement backed the Finance Ministry proposals for the 2004 budget, Finance Minister Milen Velchev said on Wednesday. The coalition partners will meet by the end of the week to find a solution of the discussed matters, related to the budget, Velchev added. Velchev said that the demand of the coalition partner Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) for a BGN 70 M reduction of the budgetary revenue to be covered by a decrease of the Ministries' costs is only one of the possible measures. The other one is a BGN 25 M reduction of the subsidies for the Tobacco and Agriculture funds on which Velchev and MRF failed to reach an agreement on Tuesday. Velchev plans to use the money to compensate the decrease of the gross income tax for country citizens with lowest income from 15 % to 12 %. He also decided to keep the 80 % compensation of the first five days of sick leave instead of previously planned 50 %.