2008 STATE BUDGET DISCUSSIONS START IN ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Nov 13 2007

YEREVAN, November 13. /ARKA/. The Parliament of Armenia started
discussing the country state budget for 2008 Tuesday.

The state budget for 2008 is quite ambitious and provides for serious
increase in budget revenues and expenditures, Armenia’s Prime-Minister
Serge Sargsian said at the country’s parliament in presenting the
draft budget for 2008.

The budget aims at social sector providing for 46% increase in social
expenditures, the Prime-Minister said.

According to him, under the state budget pensions are to increase
60.9% and a new reformed pension system is to be introduced in
the country. As the main source of the country’s budget will be
the tax proceeds, the tax burden should be reasonable and "double
interpretation of tax legislation should be excluded", Sargsian said.

The Prime-Minister also drew attention of the parliament to the
increased support to rural sector, healthcare and education.

"The fact that 2008 is a presidential election year in Armenia
should not have impact on the developments in the country. Election
campaign should not prevent implementation of the budget and efficient
functioning of the executive authorities," the Prime-Minister said.

The state budget of Armenia for 2008 totals about $2.5bln. Under the
draft budget, the receipts are 744.7bln Drams and expenditures are
820.8bln Drams with budget deficit being 76bln Drams. The consolidated
budget for 2008 is 766.9bln Drams, expenditures – 842.9bln Drams,
deficit – 76bln Drams, which exceed the planned indicators of
consolidated budget for 2007 in revenues by 164bln Drams or 27.2%,
expenditures – by 193.7bln Drams or 29.8% and in deficit – by 29.7bln
Drams.

Under the draft budget for 2008, expenditures for social needs are to
be 218.9bln Drams, which is 69.2bln more than in 2007. Particularly,
monthly average pension is to be increased 64.9% (at the account of the
main amount of pension and the pay for each year of record of service
– "ARKA") up to 21,842 Drams. Family benefits are to increase 20.4%
up to 21,089 Drams, and minimum wages is to increase by 5,000 Drams
and reach 25,000 Drams.

According to estimates by the Government, 79.9% of the revenues of
the state budget are to be provided by taxes and dues. Tax proceeds
and state dues are planned to be 595.1bln Drams, which is 118.5bln
Drams more than this year.

Under the draft budget, real growth of GDP (Gross Domestic Product)
is to be 10%, deflator – 4%, inflation – 4%±1.5% and dollar exchange
rate is to be 336.5Drams.

–Boundary_(ID_b9APA8MTFWDJck8Rk7JVgg )–

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress