Rada adopted a bill on the new state budget for 2017
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine overnight Wednesday, December 21, adopted as a whole the government-proposed bill on the state budget for 2017, with a 3% deficit and a 3% economic growth, UNIAN informed.
Draft law on the state budget No.5000 was supported by 274 MPs with the required minimum of 226 votes.
While introducing the bill, Minister of Finance of Ukraine Oleksandr Danyliuk pointed out that the Budget marathon was nearing completion. "The Government has submitted a budget in time, meeting all deadlines and in a due procedure, but the tradition of passing a budget at the Christmas tree overnight appeared stronger,” said the minister. “But the principles of budgeting are realism, potential, and transparency."
Danyluk added that economic development trends for the next three years have been laid in the budget.
"During the finalization of the bill [on the state budget], the government has kept the budget priorities - improving defense capabilities, increasing social standards, developing education and healthcare, supporting agriculture and infrastructure projects, supporting regional projects within the framework of decentralization. At the same time, we have strengthened priorities: we laid funds for increasing the minimum wage to UAH 3,200. To this end, budget expenditures of about UAH 28 billion are taken into account," said the minister.
In turn, deputy head of the Verkhovna Rada budget committee Serhiy Melnik stressed that the voted version of the bill has taken into account the rules on state subventions and tax amendments, earlier adopted by the Verkhovna Rada.
During the debate, the Opposition Bloc, Samopomich, and Batkivshchyna factions criticized the document, saying that they were not going to vote for the bill. In their opinion, it is "not the budget but the verdict against the country." At the same time, head of the People's Front faction Maksym Burbak stressed: "The country must enter the new year with the approved budget, because this is a budget of development".
At the end of the debate, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said: "We started the process of forming a fair budget for 2017, we submitted it to Parliament in time, we held the first reading. We have been working on this budget since September 15." The head of government stressed that the vote against the budget would be a vote for the destruction of Ukraine, against the increase of salaries and the development of the state.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the Cabinet of Ministers November 9 submitted to the Verkhovna Rada the draft state budget for 2017 for its second reading.
Budget revenues are set at UAH 721.4 billion, which is UAH 15.1 billion more than the figure stipulated y the initial draft, and expenses – at UAH 790.4 billion, which is 15.1 billion more. The maximum deficit level remains at the same level of UAH 77.5 billion, and the limit of national debt – also at the same level of UAH 2.296 trillion. The basis for calculation of budgetary indices was a macroeconomic forecast providing for real GDP growth by 3%, nominal GDP growth to UAH 2.585 trillion, and consumer inflation by year-end at 8.1%.