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Finance Ministry reveals Latvia's budget plans for 2016

Xinhua, September 29, 2015 Adjust font size:

Next year, revenues in Latvia's budget are expected to grow by 114.21 million euros (about 128 million U.S. dollars) from this year to 7.37 billion euros, according to the Finance Ministry's comments to the budget bill.

Budget expenditures, meanwhile, are projected to increase by 183.19 million euros from this year to 7.65 billion euros in 2016.

The value of Latvia's GDP is expected to reach 26.127 billion euros in current prices next year, according to Latvia's draft 2016 budget, which will be submitted to the parliament this Wednesday.

According to the ministry's information, revenues in the government basic budget should total 5.25 billion euros and expenditures are expected to grow by 1.5 percent, or 82.7 million euros, from this year to 5.62 billion euros.

The government intends to reduce expenditures on EU policy instruments and foreign-funded projects by 55.5 million euros and to increase spending by 138.2 million euros on needs like current expenditure, subsidies, allocations and social benefits, contributions to the EU budget, international cooperation and capital expenditure.

Revenues in the social security budget are projected at 2.31 billion euros. Expenditures under the social security budget are expected to grow by 3.9 percent, or 83.2 million euros, to 2.31 billion euros.

The Finance Ministry has also drawn up a medium-term budget framework for 2016, 2017 and 2018.

According to this draft document, Latvia's GDP is expected to grow to 27.75 billion euros in 2017 and 29.48 billion euros in 2018, which means that Latvia's economic growth rate is projected at 3.1 percent in next year, 3.3 percent in 2017 and 3.5 percent in 2018.

The government is determined to keep Latvia's budget deficit at 1 percent of GDP next year and in 2017 and to reduce it to 0.8 percent of GDP in 2018. There is also a plan to create a fiscal contingency reserve, worth 0.1 percent of GDP, in 2017 and 2018.

The government is scheduled to adopt Latvia's 2016 budget bill this Tuesday, so that it can be put before the parliament on Wednesday. Endit