The history of the last few years shows the authorities in an electoral year increase the salaries, pensions and allowances rather significantly, while during the years after the elections, until the next electoral cycle, these are increased slightly or not at all so as to bring back the budget to normality or to invest in other areas, expert of the independent think tank “Expert-Grup” Iurie Morcotylo stated for Radio Free Europe, being quoted by IPN.
According to the expert, most of these programs are welcomed because of their social orientation as the salaries of budget-funded employees and pensions are small, but the necessity of increasing the allowances is slightly in contradiction with the budget capacities. However, at least at the start of the year, the dynamics of the amounts collected into the budget are positive and exceed the expectations. This enables the authorities to more actively resort to such raises that are most often electoral.
Iurie Morcotylo said that unlike the previous years and the previous electoral years, the authorities this year are constrained by the Law on Public Finances and cannot increase the 2018 budget deficit by more than 2.5% of the Gross Domestic Product, except for the projects financed with foreign assistance.
The expert noted the positive dynamics in the augmentation of the budget witnessed since the start of this year stem from the economic growth of almost 4% in the first quarter and from the pressure exerted on the informal economy to increase the taxes collected into the budget. The freezing of the external financial assistance of the EU is a minus for the Moldovan economy as this money was to go to different infrastructure projects and this would have contributed to economic growth.
