After years of reporting tax revenues above projected levels, the focus of the Cabinet's fiscal policy is moving to budgetary expenditures, according to Finance Ministry State Secretary František Palko.
The time is over when tax revenues are SKK20 billion higher than projected figures to thus improve Slovakia's state budget income by more than 10 percent, said Palko. In terms of funding state activities, it is therefore necessary to focus on savings, which can be used to cover the state's priorities, Palko stated on the ministry's web site. Tax revenues exceeded projections last year, as well. In comparison to the previous year, improvement in 2007 was moderate. 2007 tax revenues amounted to SKK258.2 billion, up 4 percent (about SKK10 billion) compared with projections.
According to Palko, the structure of the extra income was different. Before 2007, better macroeconomic development contributed to higher tax revenues, while it was the one-time effect of accumulated cigarette reserves which boosted last year's results. He thinks that savings in expenditures, as the key point in Slovakia's fiscal policy, is a very good reason to improve the quality of programming projections, which will reflect the funding of individual activities, including those that turn out to be unnecessary. This budgetary dimension will be applied in preparations for 2009 to 2011. SITA
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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