Communications & Electronics Report.
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The Russian government on April 29 has approved the country’s financing plan for 2003-2005, Alexei Kudrin, a deputy prime minister, told reporters. Kudrin, who is also Russia’s finance minister, said the financing plan was a new, three-year budget-policy instrument. Although Russia is planning to ease the tax burden in 2004, the plan comes up with a balanced budget in which expenditures increase in real terms but not as a share of GDP. In 2004, for example, federal expenditures will go down 0.6% as a share of GDP. *** On the basis of the financing plan, the federal budgets will be balanced in 2004 and 2005. In other words, expenditures will be level with revenues, assuming that oil trades at $20 a barrel. The 2003 budget was balanced out assuming oil trades at $21.5 a barrel. Kudrin also said there would be a surplus of 0.6% of GDP in 2004 and 0.9% of GDP in 2005. Kudrin recalled that earlier, the government planned to balance the 2004 budget at $18.5 a barrel, but that was later deemed to rigid in view of the reduction of the tax burden. *** The federal budget surplus in Russia in January-April 2003 amounted to 31.7 billion rubles, based on information on financing, or 0.8% of GDP, a source in the Russian Finance Ministry told Interfax. The primary budget surplus in the first four months of the year amounted to 121.3 billion rubles or 3.24% of GDP for that period. Federal budget revenue amounted to 804.7 billion rubles or about 70% of the budget estimate for the first half, with expenditure of 773 billion rubles or 63.9% of the estimate for the first half. The federal budget revenue in the first quarter amounted to 1.9 billion rubles, or 0.1% of GDP, with revenue of 580.2 billion rubles and expenditure of 578.2 billion rubles. *** The Russian Ministry of Finance has revised its forecast federal budget surplus for 2003 up from 72.15 billion rubles, or 0.6% of GDP to 187.768 billion rubles, or 1.4% of GDP. The GDP forecast was also revised up, from a budgeted 13.05 trillion rubles to 13.1 trillion rubles, according to a three-year financial plan. It is anticipated that budget revenues will be 2.548 trillion rubles or 19.5% of GDP, compared with the 2.418 trillion rubles or 18.5% of GDP written into the 2003 budget. Spending is likely to be 2.3604 trillion rubles (18% of GDP), a shade above the budgeted 2.3456 trillion rubles (also 18%). *** Planned federal budget revenues in 2004 are 2.686 trillion rubles, or 17.7% of GDP, according to a financial plan for 2003-2005. Planned expenditures in 2004 are 2.591 trillion rubles or 17.1%, and the planned surplus is 94.751 billion rubles or 0.6% of GDP, the document says. Forecast GDP next year is 15.161 trillion rubles. *** Inflation on the Russian consumer market in April 2003 amounted to 1%, compared with 1.1% in March, 1.6% in February and 2.4% in January. The State Statistics Committee distributed this information. Inflation in January-April 2003 amounted to 6.2% compared with 6.6% in the same period in 2002. Average daily price growth in the country amounted to 0.033% in April 2003 compared with 0.034% in March and 0.038% in April 2002. |