KYIV, July 17 – Ukraine”s budget deficit may reach Hr 3 billion this year, President Leonid Kuchma said at a meeting of the Council of Regions on Friday.
According to him, the shortfall in budget revenues since the start of this year has reached Hr.2.8 billion or 23 percent of the projected annual revenues.
Moreover, the budget owes enterprises almost Hr 6 billion in non-refunded or overpaid taxes, including value-added tax.
“If measures are not taken, we will not be talking about a deficit-free budget this year,” Kuchma said.
Kuchma stressed that a deficit-free budget is one of the conditions for resumption of loans to Ukraine under the International Monetary Fund”s Extended Fund Facility program.
Finance Ministry spokeswoman Iryna Bezverkha said on Friday that consolidated budget revenues during the January-June period of this year amounted to Hr 19,429 million, or 45.9 percent of the total revenues that the Finance Ministry projected for this year.
The total amount of incomes obtained exceeds incomes obtained by budgets of levels in the first half of 1999 by 39.6 percent.
Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko stated earlier that he is satisfied with fulfillment of the budget in the first half of the year, and noted that social programs were 99 percent financed.
