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FinMin Bolos: Budget correction is combination between increasing budget deficit and revenue increase
The budget rectification has a component of increasing the budget deficit from 5% to 6.9%, but it is also an increase in revenues as a result of the measures taken in the last year by 10.4 billion RON, the Minister of Finance, Marcel Bolos said on Friday evening.
"It is a budget rectification that has a component of increasing the budget deficit from 5 to 6.9%. It is also an increase in revenues as a result of the measures we took during the last year by 10.4 billion RON. We are registering an increase in these categories of tax revenues, and let's not forget that we also have the tax amnesty, which will also bring money to the budget.
It is a combination between an increase in the budget deficit percentage, on the one hand, and an increase in revenues, which come from better collection, but as I said, 7.9 billion RON comes from the tax amnesty. It is an estimate, but at the same time let's not forget that there are ongoing tax inspections at the moment. I can't tell you where, but a single finding exceeds 500 million euros", Bolos told Digi24.
He stated that he is counting on the additional income from the tax amnesty, considering that local public authorities can also apply for these facilities.
"So we are somewhat confident that we could have a good collection rate for the additional income from the tax amnesty, taking into account the fact that the local public authorities, and I am saying this for the first time, can also apply for these facilities, which are for taxes and local taxes, for the people who owe these taxes and fees to the local budgets, the value of which exceeds 21.9 billion RON, so being small claims, we expect a significant amount to come from there as well (...) the additional revenues from the tax amnesty remains a serious source. Calculations show that we will get a significant amount of money from there, and we also have good receipts from what is meant by social contributions", he emphasized.
Bolos explained the reason for the increase in the budget deficit by supplementing the funds for the National Health Insurance House, as well as those for investment projects, even if a better collection of budget revenues is expected.
"Of course, it appears quite strange here. On the one hand, a better collection of budget revenues, on the other hand, an increase in revenues from the tax amnesty, but at the same time an increase in the percentage of the budget deficit. Let's not forget that we have a supplement of 11.3 billion RON for the Health Center, we have 19 billion RON of additional funds for investment projects and also what the measures taken by the Government meant, as a result of these forms of protest that were at the beginning of the year, they exceed 10 billion RON. So, somehow, the fact that we succeeded in a budget rectification that is a combination between the increase in the budget deficit percentage on the one hand, and on the other hand an improvement or an increase in the level of budget revenues, one that greatly helps the sustainability of Romania's public finances", said Marcel Bolos.
The Ministry of Finance published on Thursday the draft Ordinance on the budget rectification, which foresees an increase of 1.94 percentage points in the budget deficit this year, from 5% of the initial GDP, to 6.94% of the GDP.
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