MP forecasts 3% budget deficit in Armenia by end of 2011

PanARMENIAN.Net - Head of the RA National Assembly Standing Committee for Financial and Budgetary Affairs Gagik Minasyan forecasts a 3% budget deficit in the country by the end of the year.

The high level of budget deficit towards GDP was conditioned in 2009 by the obligation shouldered by the government to avoid social expenditures cut, despite the drop in budget revenues, Minasyan told a press conference in Yerevan on June 1.

According to him, the budget deficit totaled 7.7% in 2009 and was decreased to 5% in 2010. The 2011 state budget envisages a 4% deficit.

“However, the trends indicate that the index will be much lower - around 3%, as is set for the EU member states,” Minasyan said.

He noted that a 9% growth was recorded in the state budget revenues in January-April 2011 compared to the same period in 2010, while tax revenues increased by 10%, expenditures – by around 6%.

The state budget was fulfilled with an AMD 2.4bln deficit in January-April 2011 against the AMD 562bln deficit envisaged for the period. The budget deficit is envisaged to make 148.6bln in 2011.