The budget bill provides incentives for a balanced state budget - expert

October 3, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. The bill on the republican budget for 2013, adopted in the first reading by the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus, provides for incentive tools for a balanced state budget. This point of view was expressed in a conversation with a BELTA correspondent by Irina Sementchukova, Dean of the Faculty of Professional Development and Retraining of the Vitebsk State Technological University, Candidate of Economic Sciences. "2013 is the peak year for Belarus's external debt payments of $3.2 billion. To achieve a balanced state budget and keep the money market within the projected inflation level, the budget project supported in the first reading provides for the use of a number of incentive tools," she believes. First of all, Irina Sementchukova noted the expansion of opportunities for enterprises to obtain subsidized loans for investment purposes at the expense of investment funds. "An increase in the scale of investment lending will contribute to the modernization of the national economy and the enhancement of its competitiveness," she emphasized. The expert also drew attention to the preservation of the social orientation of budget expenditures. Against the backdrop of proposals to increase tariffs for housing and communal services, the budget provides for a return to the practice of cashless housing subsidies for citizens whose share of expenses for utility payments in the family's total income exceeds 15-20%. The House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus adopted the bill on the republican budget for 2013 in the first reading at a meeting on October 2. The republican budget project was formed on a deficit-free basis. The total amount of consolidated budget revenues for 2013 is projected at Br197.41 trillion, or 31.3% of GDP. Revenues under the republican budget project are projected at Br121.72 trillion, or an increase of 26.1% compared to the expected execution for 2012. The main sources of tax revenues of the republican budget are value added tax, excise taxes, and tax revenues from foreign economic activity. Consolidated budget expenditures for 2013 are projected at Br197.41 trillion. Expenditures under the republican budget project are formed in the amount of Br121.72 trillion. The main features of the republican budget project for 2013 include the formation of innovation funds from the profit tax paid by organizations, changes in approaches to crediting profit tax to the Minsk budget, and the introduction of a non-tax payment for gas supply organizations. In 2013, the main goals for the public finance sector will be to increase the stability and competitiveness of the national economy, guarantee the fulfillment of the budget's financial obligations to external and internal creditors, maintain the quality of budget services, and provide social protection for vulnerable population groups. It is expected that the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus will consider the draft budget for the next year in the second reading on October 8. -0-