LAST year’s public finance deficit was considerably lower than expected
- 3.6 percent of GDP as opposed to the planned 4.9 percent, the Finance
Ministry announced.
Finance Minister Ivan Mikloš said at a press conference on March 10 that the deficit was Sk16.7 billion (€410 million) lower than expected.
Of the sum, Sk8.3 billion (€204 million) were unused finances that are on the accounts of individual ministries and other public organisations. Another Sk4.5 billion (€111 million) comes from the savings measures of budgetary organisations, and Sk3.9 billion (€96 million) is the yield from money that the state deposited in the central bank for pension reform.
According to analysts such as Ján Tóth, the main economist with the ING
Bank, the incorrect budget plan could undermine the Finance Ministry’s trustworthiness, the Slovak daily Pravda wrote.
Compiled by Martina Pisárová from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
