Delay in adopting state budget defers planning of local budgets

The delay in adopting the 2011 budget will have serious consequences, even if the Ministry of Finance says this fact will not affect the financing of public costs in the first nine months of next year, considers economist Viorel Dandara, expert of the Institute for Development and Social Initiative (IDIS) “Viitorul”, Info-Prim Neo reports. Viorel Dandara said the local public authorities do not know how much money will be transferred from the state budget to them in 2011 and cannot plan the local budgets. Also, the budget-funded institutions use the expenditure estimates for 2010, which are not adjusted to the higher prices. The draft state budget law for 2011 provides for revenues of 18 billion lei, up over 17% compared with the initial projections for 2010. Compared with the revenues forecast for this year, the rise planned for 2011 is 10%. According to Viorel Dandara, these figures show the real economic situation. The budget collections from taxes in 2011 will represent 75.5% of the total revenues and this is good. The budget deficit is planned to be 2.3 billion lei. 65% of it will be covered from foreign loans. Viorel Dandara also said that the official statistics confirm the earlier forecasts that the revenues into the national public budget towards the end of the year will be 102% fulfilled.