NEXT year, the Economy Ministry should get an additional Sk300 million (€7.2 million) from the state coffers for investment incentives, originally planned for the valorisation of teachers' salaries, according to SITA.
Farmers should get compensation for direct payments up to 50 percent of the average level farmers get in European Union countries and not 55 percent, as one of the members of the governing coalition, the Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK), insists.
During its final budget talk, the cabinet increased budgetary expenditures in some chapters, but decided to keep the deficit under 3.9 percent of the projected gross domestic product (GDP).
Economy Minister Pavol Rusko had requested Sk500 million (€12 million) to cover investment incentives, but he will get only Sk300 million (€7.2 million), which will be taken away from the education sector.
Education Minister Martin Fronc opposes this shift and is determined not to support such a change.
The draft state budget assumes a deficit of Sk59.6 billion (€1.4 billion), while revenues are projected at Sk250 billion (€6 billion), and expenditures should be Sk309.6 billion. The public finance deficit is budgeted at 3.9 percent of GDP, which translates into Sk50.3 billion (€1.2 billion).
13. Oct 2003 at 0:00
