MOSCOW, March 12. /TASS/. A high level of the federal budget deficit at the year-start is a standard phenomenon related to advance payment expenses, Director of the Center of Market Situation Studies of the Higher School of Economics Georgy Ostapkovich told TASS.
"I believe this is a normal phenomenon for the start of the year. Although the deficit showed in two months is already two times and even more than the annual deficit planned for twelve months. However, there is such financial phenomenon that at the start of the year, and this takes place every year, the Finance Ministry makes advances to undertakings, that is, it makes advance payments to them. To industry, agriculture and other branches. High advance payment burden always appears in first months and the budget deficit grows. This is not the phenomenon of 2025," the expert said.
These funds will then return to the budget as taxes, he noted.
The federal budget deficit will be smaller towards the year-end, Ostapkovich said. "Somewhat in the second half of the year, advanced funds start returning in the form of taxes and this deficit will go down. However, everything certainly depends on ‘black swans’ that ‘fly’ around us. The geopolitical situation at present is nevertheless positive, the situation is improving," the expert added.
Earlier reports said that the federal budget deficit in January - February 2025 was estimated by the Russian Finance Ministry as totaling 2.7 trillion rubles ($31 bln).