Tanasescu's budget: higher expenses, lower deficit

The Government on Thursday approved the second budgetary adjustment for this year. Despite substantially higher expenditures, the budget deficit takes a spectacular dive to 1.64% of GDP, as compared to the 2.1% target discussed with the IMF. Public Finance Minister Mihai Tanasescu last week announced at the Victoria Palace (Govt. HQ) that the trend of economic growth and of the rate of budgetary contributions collection had led to additional revenues worth over 21,000 billion ROL. The week before, Tanasescu had spoken of revenues worth a “mere” 12,000 billion ROL above the projected level. He stated on Thursday a new budgetary adjustment might be operated in autumn, on the basis of money collected by the budget particularly from VAT, following higher consumption, from excises and last but not least from the increasingly substantial taxes registered by companies. According to Tanasescu, the outlook of such a spectacular growth in revenues has persuaded the IMF to agree to the generous tax cuts scheduled for next year. ZF