Ukrainian Finance Ministry to prepare 2023 state budget amendments shortly
MOSCOW. March 7 (Interfax) – The Ukrainian state budget for 2023 will have to be adjusted, with changes mainly impacting public spending, Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergei Marchenko said on Monday at a discussion organized by the Center for Economic Strategy.
“It is a matter of time and quantity, but it is a necessity, so we will shortly start working on draft budget amendments. I am not sure that it is possible to review the budget revenues: unfortunately, there is very little room for maneuver here, but the expenditure part – yes: for understandable reasons and in understandable areas,” Ukrainian media quoted Marchenko as saying.
When commenting on the impact of the Economy Ministry’s new macroeconomic forecast for 2023 as compared to the forecast on which the state budget is based – GDP growth of 1% instead of 3%, and inflation at 24% instead of 28%, Marchenko said that it is “within a margin of error.”
“Today, we are guided by last year’s figures to a greater extent than by the macro-forecast. Objectively, we compare our revenue based on certain taxes and analyze factors that used to influence or influence today the increase/decline in such proceeds,” the minister said. The main source of budget revenue is the personal income tax and VAT, Marchenko said, adding that “in this sense, everything is more or less stable, we do not expect any significant fluctuations.”
Ukraine’s budget for 2023 was approved with a deficit ceiling of 1.296 trillion hryvni, including 1.124 trillion hryvni for the general fund.
Ukraine’s budget deficit increased to 88.8 billion hryvni in February 2023 from 72.3 billion hryvni in January, and to 93.2 billion hryvni from 78.9 billion hryvni for the general fund.
According to State Treasury data, cash expenditures of Ukraine’s state budget in February rose to 252.9 billion hryvni from 193.7 billion hryvni in January, including to 226.7 billion hryvni from 183.6 billion hryvni for the general fund, or 86.8% of those planned for that period.
General fund revenue stood at 132.2 billion hryvni in February as compared to 104.4 billion hryvni in January, including international grant assistance, which grew to 51.4 billion hryvni from 36.6 billion hryvni.
Discounting the grant financing, budget revenue increased to 80.8 billion hryvni in February from 67.8 billion hryvni in January.
