OREANDA-NEWS. September 17, 2008. “Revenues of the consolidated budget for the following year are expected to the tune of 372.5 bn UAH against 280.1 bn UAH this year.

It is by 33%, or by 92.4 bn UAH more as compared to 2008 plan,” Minister of Finance of Ukraine Viktor Pinzenyk announced in the course of  presentation of a draft State Budget 2009.

According to him, revenues of the State Budget will raise from 221.2 bn UAH up to 288.1 bn UAH, that is by almost 67 bn UAH, or by 30% more. The revenues of main fund of the State Budget will up from 174 to 241.1 bn UAH, which is by 67 bn UAH or by 39% higher against this year’s budget. The deficit of the State Budget is estimated at the rate of 2%.

As Viktor Pinzenyk put it, such parameters of the State Budget have to provide with financial resources realization of a number of state programs, notably, in energy, nuclear, coal, agrarian and other domains.

In addition the draft State Budget for 2009 appropriates implementation in full of social tasks defined by the government, in particular, to level minimal salary with the subsistence wage, to increase financial provision of coercive structures personnel, to fulfil payments taking into account the cost of living etc.

The Minister was heard as saying, the draft 2009 State Budget foresees transition from the centre of a significant part of financial resources to the local budgets.

The Gov’t has also reacted to the necessity to fundamentally improve supply with fuel of all force departments: from 507 mn UAH to 927 mn UAH. 2.6fold will up expenses for purchase and modernization of military equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. “We have responded with the budget to those challenges the witnesses of which we have unfortunately become this year, a natural disaster. In this connection, for instance, financing of such a program as purchase of special equipment for the Ministry of Emergencies has been upped by 84%,” Viktor Pinzenyk explained.

Furthermore, the Finance Minister underlined that the Gov’t has submitted to the Verkhovna Rada a balanced draft State Budget for 2009 and hopes it would stay the same after being considered in the Parliament.