Budget Spends at Large but Evenly
The federal budget spending neared 1 trillion rubles in January and February, which is roughly twice as much as a year earlier. First time in the recent years, the spending was almost in line with the hypothetically even schedule. The revenues, however, were stepping up above the estimated pace, even after its adjustment to skyrocketing prices for crude oil.
Federal budget revenues amounted to 649 billion rubles in February, while the spending was 533 billion rubles. Taken for January and February, the revenues reached 1.34 trillion rubles, or 20.2 percent of the target, and the spending equaled 0.92 trillion rubles, or 13.3 percent of the target.
For the first time in the recent years, the January-February spending of the budget neared the hypothetically even schedule – the ideal figure would have been 16.7 percent. “Nothing of the kind has been noticed before,” said Alexei Biryukov from the Regions Ministry. “That the spending was high could be noticed also because of the tension absence on the monetary market,” said Yaroslav Lisovolik from Deutsche Bank. In Finance Ministry, they confirmed that the evenness of spending was vital exactly for liquidity.
But the movement of revenues is of no less surprise. First of all, they are materially above the target. What’s more, the revenues administrated by other federal bodies reached 122 billion rubles (41.9 percent of the annual target) in the first two months. And last but not least, customs revenues were notably above the tax ones - 651 billion rubles (21.9 percent of the annual target) and 556 billion rubles (16.7 percent) respectively.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Mar. 18, 2008
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