site.btaOutgoing Finance Minister: If Collection of Taxes Goes Well, Budget Update Will Be Unnecessary

April 21 (BTA) - According to preliminary data, the budget deficit stands at 619,400,000 leva, or 0.5 per cent of the GDP, as at the end of March, outgoing Finance Minister Kiril Ananiev told Parliament on Wednesday. Ananiev said that the collection of taxes is good and the budget could be in balance at the end of April. He believes that good tax compliance will make a budget update unnecessary.

Ananiev answered questions by MPs from all parliamentary groups in the new National Assembly. The questions were about the implementation of the budget, Bulgaria's financial stability, and concrete expenditures.

The fiscal reserve currently stands at 8.5 billion leva, including 8 billion leva in accounts with the central bank and the remainder in commercial banks, Ananiev said.

"An amount of 3.3 billion leva in the state reserve belongs to the so-called Silver Fund and we have not taken a penny of it. The rest can be used to cover budget spending temporarily," the outgoing minister explained adding that there is no risk for the payment of welfare benefits and pensions until the end of the year.

He thus responded to cоncerns that the Silver Fund, whose only purpose is to guarantee the stability of the public pension system, might be used by the outgoing government to cover other expenses.

Ananiev said that the spending the new MPs call for, amounts to nearly 13 billion leva, which represents 10 per cent of the GDP and calls for taking out new debt.

Since the start of the year, the outgoing government has taken out about 800 million in debt, which is under 18 per cent of the planned new debt that can be assumed in 2021.

Ananiev said that the options for taking out new government loans have been moved back to the second half of the year because the State may face additional spending due to the pandemic.

He also said that the end-of-year fiscal reserve is expected to exceed the figure laid down by law, but this will depend on the political stability, economic factors and the course the pandemic takes.

Ananiev said 1.345 billion leva have been spent on measures against the pandemic in the first quarter of the year. RY/ZH

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