The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, has adopted the country's state budget for 2011 with a deficit of Hr. 38.84 billion, or 3.1% of projected GDP.
A total of 279 lawmakers out of the 298 registered in the parliament’s session hall on Thursday voted for a respective law, an Interfax-Ukraine reporter said.
The parliament also supported Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn’s proposal to order the Cabinet of Ministers, following the execution of the state budget in the first quarter and the first half of 2011, to draw up and submit to the Verkhovna Rada amendments to the budget in order to raise social standards.
The law was adopted without line-item consideration, after its brief presentation by Finance Minister Fedir Yaroshenko.
According to the budget’s comparative table, the deficit of the budget and its revenues remained unchanged during preparations for second reading, whereas the budget’s expenditures were slightly reduced (by Hr. 28 million) through a respective increase in loans from the state budget.
The state budget for 2011 foresees an 11.4% increase in its revenues compared to the state budget for 2010, to Hr. 281.46 billion, a 5.3% increase in its expenditures, to Hr. 321.92 billion, and a 28.2% drop in its deficit, to UAH 38.84 billion, from 5% of GDP to 3.1% of GDP.
The law increases the living wage, which was UAH 875 as of December 1, 2010, to UAH 894 from January 1, Hr. 911 from April 1, Hr. 934 from October 1, and Hr. 953 from December 1.
The minimum wage, which was Hr. 922 as of December 1, 2010, will grow to UAH 941 from January 1, Hr. 960 from April 1, Hr. 985 from October 1, and Hr. 1,004 from December 1.
According to the comparative table, in terms of financing the budget deficit amendments were not introduced during the second reading. As a result, the size of direct public debt at the end of 2011 was set at Hr. 375.64 billion, or 30% of expected GDP, compared to 32.1% of GDP projected for the end of 2010.
