“We expect that the revenues will be higher than those given in the budget. Expenditure items are also widely planned, so we expect quite significant savings here as well,” said Pavle Petrovic.
Serbia’s budget for 2022 is carefully planned and the deficit of three percent of gross domestic product (GDP), ie 1.7 billion euros, will be easily realized, said today the President of the Fiscal Council Pavle Petrovic and added that the institution estimates that the deficit likely to be less than two percent.
“Our projections say that it is very likely that there will be about one billion euros in savings and that the real deficit could be somewhere around two percent of GDP,” said Petrovic at the session of the Committee on Finance, Republic Budget and Control of Public Spending of the Serbian Parliament.
He specified that the assessment of the Fiscal Council is based on planned revenues and expenditures.
“Revenues are planned conservatively and we support that and expect it to be higher than those given in the budget. Expenditure items are also widely planned, so we expect quite significant savings here as well,” said Petrovic.
He added that the Fiscal Council welcomes the caution on the side of revenues and expenditures, “because in the conditions of uncertainty brought by pandemics, it is good to have reserves”.
According to him, in addition to the space to reduce the deficit, there are risks that can lead to higher expenditures, which are not included in the budget, but when all this is assessed together, the projection is that the deficit will most likely be one billion euros less, ie below two percent of GDP in the next year,” Politika reports.
