The next year’s budget bill has passed its first reading in the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus, with the deficit as high as 1.8% of the GDP, BelTA has learnt. Presenting the bill, Belarusian Finance Minister Andrei Kharkovets noted that in 2009 revenues of Belarus’ consolidated budget are expected to total Br72.7 trillion or 46.9% of the GDP. The main sources of tax revenues of the consolidated budget are the VAT, foreign trade incomes, income and profit taxes paid by corporations, income tax paid by individuals, and excise duties. In 2009 expenses of the consolidated budget are supposed to equal Br75.5 trillion or 48.7% of the GDP. According to Andrei Kharkovets, next year the budget expenses will be mainly channelled into ensuring the growth of salaries in the public sector, financing of national priorities set by the social and economic development programme, provision of the necessary resources for extra budget expenditures in view of the growing prices for the energy resources Belarus imports. In 2009 revenues of the central state budget are supposed to make Br54.9 trillion, expenses — Br57.7 trillion. The deficit of the central state budget is estimated at Br2.8 trillion or 1.8% of the GDP. The budget deficit will be financed using domestic resources (Br2.4 trillion) and foreign ones (Br0.4 trillion).

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