BRATISLAVA, May 3, (WEBNOVINY)- Though salaries have been frozen, the state will have to gain an additional over 200 million euros to achieve its budget goal of squeezing the general government deficit to 3.8 percent of the country’s GDP. Prime Minister Iveta Radicova however says that the citizens do not have to fear as the state should acquire the sum from its more effective operation. “So far there exists an agreement that we will be improving state assets handling and do not take the way of increasing the tax burden for the citizens,“ the prime minister said after the meeting of the Coalition Council on Monday where coalition leaders also dealt with the outlines of the budget for next years.
The Finance Ministry proposed in the budget outlines to freeze pays in the state administration also for next year while only teachers can count on a moderate pay rise. Further measures planned to achieve the projected deficit of public finances include lower e-toll fees, higher revenues from dividends of state companies and also an increase in excise taxes on beer and wine. In the outlines the ministry has also drafted caps on expenditures of individual ministries. Those, which should be hit by the reduction do not like the measure and objected it in dozens of principal comments to the outlines.
“Everybody is protecting his/her department“; Radicova commented on the initial negotiations on the next year’s budget. She however says that the outlines submitted by the Finance Ministry should be taken as a potential suggestion. “Each potential proposals tabled by the Finance Ministry will be subject to further talks,” she said.
The deficit of Slovak public finances should drop below the Maastricht criterion of three percent of GDP in 2013. The Finance Ministry has confirmed this aim, defined already in the three-year general government budget, in the updated national reform program. The biggest part of public funds’ consolidation should thus be implemented already this year, when the deficit is to shrink from last year’s nearly 8 percent of GDP to 4.9 percent. Next year, the gap should narrow to 3.8 percent and in 2013 to 2.9 percent of GDP. After 2013, the aim is to continue in the consolidation so that the portion of the gross debt of public administration on GDP decreases and a balanced budget is achieved in the middle run.
SITA
