MOSCOW, September 28 (Itar-Tass) —— Russia’s government on Friday submitted a draft federal budget for 2013 and for a longer period of 2014-2015 to the Russian State Duma lower parliament house.
Along with the draft budget, the government submitted to the State Duma forecasts of socio-economic development in 2013 and in the period 2014-2015, basic guidelines of the budgetary and tax policy for that period, calculations of inter-budgetary transfers between Russian constituent regions, bills on budgets of state-run off-budget funds, such as the Pension Funds, the Social and Medical Insurance Funds, on insurance tariffs on obligatory social insurance against occupational accidents and diseases for 2013 and for the period of 2014-2015, and other documents that are to be submitted in line with the Russian Budgetary Code, the government press service reported.
According to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, the budget will be socially oriented to make it possible to solve development problems. “The budget has funds for raising pensions, for indexation of child benefits, for the support of people with disabilities and social protection for those who lost their jobs,” he said.
According to Andrei Makarov, the chairman of the Duma committee for budget and taxes, the first reading of the country’s chief financial document is planned for October 19. Before October 10, the budget is to be scrutinized by the Audit Chamber and all committees concerned. Then, it will be considered at several meetings of the Duma committee for budget and taxes, and only after that, or on October 18, it will be submitted to the State Duma Council.
In line with the latest upgrade presented on September 26 by Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov at a meeting with members of the United Russia faction, the forecasted federal budgetary revenues in 2013 are fixed at 12,865.9 billion roubles, budgetary spending – at 13,387.3 billion roubles, thus, the budget deficit is set at 521.4 billion roubles. In 2014, these indices will be 14,063.4 billion roubles, 14,207 billiob roubles, and 143.6 billion roubles, respectively; and in 2015 – 15,615.5 billion roubles, 15,626 billion roubles, and 10.8 billiob roubles.
The federal budget for 2013 is based on a forecasted GDP of 66.515 trillion roubles, inflation rates below 5.5 percent, and the rouble exchange rate against the U.S. dollar of 32.4 roubles per one U.S. dollar. The figures for 2014 are as follows: GDP of 73.993 trillion roubles, inflations rate of five percent, the rouble exchange rate of 33 roubles per U.S dollar. The figures for 2015 are: GDP of 82.937 trillion roubles, inflations rate of five percent, the rouble exchange rate of 33.7 roubles per U.S dollar.
Macroeconomic forecasts for 2013, 2014 and 2015 are based on an oil price of 97, 101, and 104 U.S. dollars per barrel, respectively. Under the budgetary rule, oil prices are fixed at 91, 92 and 93 U.S. dollars per barrel, respectively. According to the Russian Finance Ministry, the oil price that secures a balanced budget will be 105.1 U.S. dollar per barrel in 2013, 103.2 U.S. dollars per barrel in 2014, and 104.2 U.S. dollars per barrel in 2015.
In 2013-2015, oil and gas revenues will go down from 10.5 percent of the GDP in 2012 to 8.9 percent in 2013, to 8.5 percent in 2014, and to 8.3 percent in 2015. Non-oil-and-gas proceeds will go up from 10.2 percent of the GDP in 2012, to 10.4 percent in 2014, and to 10.5 percent in 2015. The non-oil-and-gas deficit will decrease from 10.7 percent of the GDP in 2012 to 9.7 percent in 2013, to 8.7 percent in 2014, and to 8.4 percent in 2015.
The Reserve Fund is fixed at 2,781.8 billion roubles at the beginning of 2013, 3,173.8 billion roubles at the beginning of 2014, 3,882.3 billion roubles at the beginning of 2015, and 4,722.7 billion roubles at the beginning of 2016. The National Welfare Fund is fixed at 2,759.6 billion roubles at the beginning of 2013, 2,769.8 billion roubles at the beginning of 2014, 2,843.2 billion roubles at the beginning of 2015, and 2,847.7 billion roubles at the beginning of 2016.
In case of a deteriorating economic situation in 2013, the draft budget provides for possible mechanisms of anti-crisis measures, such as re-distribution of budgetary allocations to ensure additional social support to people and organizations to a sum of up to 200 billion roubles, and others.
The upper limit of the state domestic debt is set at 6.6 trillion rubles as of January 1, 2014, 7.87 trillion rubles as of January 1, 2014, 7.59 trillion rubles as of January 1, 2015, and 8.3 trillion roubles as of January 1, 2016. The upper limit of the state external debt is set at 66.2 billion U.S. dollars or 53 billion euro as of January 1, 2014, 75.8 billion U.S. dollars or 60.6 billion euro as of January 1, 2015, and 83.8 billion U.S. dollars or 67 billion euro as of January 1, 2016.
The state will be authorized to make foreign debts not exceeding seven billion U.S. dollars though issuing and placing in 2013 external bonds.
The finance ministry’s draft budget for 2013-2015 came under criticism from President Vladimir Putin several days before it was to be considered by the government. The president was dissatisfied that the 2013 spending did not take due account of his social liabilities committed to paper in presidential decrees issued in May shortly after he took office.
However, presenting the draft budget at a government meeting on September 20, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov pledged to see to it that the budget provided for funds for increased wages to teachers, for the support of organizations that might be hurt by Russia’s accession of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and to companies that export hi-tech products.
The State Duma however has already pointed to the need to increase financing of a number of budgetary items.