Accounting Chamber Head Valentyn Symonenko has said the state budget for 2009 wasn't fulfilled, while some indicators were falsified.
He said this at a meeting with Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych, the presidential press service reported.
Speaking about the fulfillment of the state budget for 2009, Symonenko said: "Even those indicators that somehow correspond to the law were falsified. Especially, this concerned foreign loans, salary payments, as well as the work of the Pension Fund."
Asked by the head of the state who falsified the data, Symonenko said: "[The data was falsified by] the previous government which headed the country in 2008-2009."
He also added that according to the data of the Accounting Chamber, in the sphere of tender purchases alone the state incurred losses totaling UAH 20 billion due to a personal order by former First Vice Premier Oleksandr Turchynov on so-called "protocol decisions" which were made without relevant cabinet’s resolution.
The Accounting Chamber head also informed the president about the situation in the Pension Fund of Ukraine and offered proposals regarding the improvement and development of the fund’s work.
Yanukovych and Symonenko discussed the drafting of the state budget for 2010 and the fight against corruption in the budget sphere. Symonenko said the state budget for 2010 must be adopted as soon as possible, as well as a draft tax code.
"We must begin with the adoption of a new budget. We must do everything so as to adopt a new tax code by June 1," Symonenko said.
The Accounting Chamber head also called on the optimization of a number of state programs, the cancellation of the stabilization fund and the expansion of the tax base.
Speaking about budget prospects for the current year, Symonenko noted that an increase in budget revenues was hardly possible, as there are no reserves so as to increase budget revenues for 2010.
At the same time he said reserves to fill the state budget could be found, in particular, in the sphere of payment for the use of natural resources.
The Accounting Chamber head also noted a rise in the debt load on the budget.
"While last year we paid UAH 40 billion on foreign debts, in 2010 we have to pay UAH 56 billion," he said.
As to the changes in the fiscal sphere, Symonenko said that the value-added tax system must be reformed. These changes must come into force in 2011, he added.
