Government adopts 2015 budget bill

Government adopts 2015 budget bill

The projected deficit of RSD 158.6 billion is comparable to the budget deficit stated at the start of the year and after the review at the end of the year, he told a news conference after the government meeting.

The expected deficit was RSD 163.8 billion at the start of the year and RSD 213 billion after the review, he noted.

The minister said that the new budget bill for the first time sets the expenditures totaling RSD 1,083 billion below the figure anticipated at the beginning of the year, when the estimates set the sum of budget expenses at RSD 1,094 billion. The current figure is also lower than the one envisaged in the budget review, he added.

The expenditures have been reduced by around RSD 10 billion relative to the beginning of the year and by around RSD 120 billion relative to the budget review.

The budget is the first key step that won the support of the International Monetary Fund and it will be discussed by the IMF Executive Board, the minister said.

In addition to the balanced budget, reforms will also be implemented in public enterprises and the status of restructuring companies should be resolved, the minister said. Public administration reform will also be conducted in order to improve the administrative system's efficiency, and Serbia's energy system should become independent, while the deficit in the energy sector should be reduced, Vujovic noted.

The budget bill makes room for RSD 65 billion worth of savings on the national level, the minister said and added that savings will also be ensured through lower subsidies and reduced investments in the social protection sector.

A significant positive growth is expected in 2016 and 2017, the minister said and added that a number of investment projects due to be realised in early 2015 were not taken into account when drafting the budget bill.

Vujovic announced that taxes will not be raised in 2015, but tax revenues should increase through improved collection methods.