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Lucian Croitoru: it seems difficult to have a budgetary deficit of 3% and economic growth of 5% at the same time
Lucian Croitoru, advisor of the National Bank of Romania governor considers that the budgetary deficit may be kept at the level of 3% according to him, it is difficult to get, at the same time, an economic growth of 5.5%.
" ‘Technically, it is possible that the budgetary deficit be kept around the figure of 3%. Although, if we take into consideration the measures considered favourable through the eyes of the public (the measures in the governing programme) and not only, it is hard to keep it under 4%. The problem is if two things can be made at the same time. If the deficit is reduced to 3%, the economic growth can it be 5.5%? This growth of 5.5% surely has the beneficial effects of the incentive measures, but the reduction of the deficit at 3% means they introduce in the reasoning measures which have a non-incentive effect on the economic growth (…) It is not difficult to get deficit at 3%, this is possible.. It seems difficult to have a deficit of 3% and growth of 5% at the same time, this is difficult ‘ Lucian Croitoru said, on Sunday at Digi 24.
The minister of public finances Viorel Stefan stated when he started his mandate that the governing programme is founded on an economic growth of 5.5% per year in the next four years.
On the other hand, Lucian Croitoru stated that it is not about ‘ a gap in the budget’ but he drew the attention, that it has been a practice for the governments to spend very much in the last two months of the year.
‘It is not about a hole. The budget has not transferred its resources from year to year. Any new fiscal year starts at zero, it starts with the income as it is planned to collect and the expenses they plan to do (…). Every government does the same. It is more than 10 years since the governments have managed to keep the budgetary deficit or to keep a surplus during the year, until the months of October, November and after that, when we are close to a surplus we get to massive expenses to get to the planned deficit of 2-3%. This practice is not good, but it is not of a certain government. During the last months of the year they spend three billion. Usually they make payments in advance, of VAT (…) It is an unhealthy practice’ Croitoru explained.