Embezzlement

The Ministry of Finance proposes to stop the growth of government spending

The Ministry of Finance proposes to maintain the share of non-interest expenditures of the federal budget in GDP in 2003 at the current year level, 12.61% - such a guideline is contained in the draft main parameters of the 2003 budget, which the Ministry of Finance submitted to the government last night. Commenting on the document, a senior ministry official said that he considers Vladimir Putin’s budget message to be completed: “The achieved level of non-interest expenses of the consolidated budget does not correspond to the current level of economic development of the country, and their dynamics impede the reduction of the tax burden and the consolidation of economic growth trends. Further increases in certain categories of expenditures can only be allowed in order to finance specific programs that ensure a reduction in relevant budget expenditures in the coming years.”

Following the president, the Ministry of Finance admits that expenses cannot be increased further. “The cost limit has been reached and we must stay there,” says the official. According to him, when forming the economic strategy in 2000, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade calculated that the economic situation made it possible to increase in 2001-2004. the volume of government spending by 25% in real terms. Of the two possible scenarios (distributing the increase resource evenly over all four years or using it at once), life, with the help of a number of populist decisions of the president and government, chose the second: in 2001-2002, spending in real terms increased by 22%.

The calls by presidential adviser Andrei Illarionov to give an impetus to economic growth by sharply cutting budget expenditures are assessed cautiously by the Ministry of Finance: “The social cost of such reforms would not increase.” At the same time, financiers consider the vector of cost reduction to be correct, but consider the reduction “within 5% over five years” to be “appropriate.”

The Finance Ministry official believes that it will be difficult for even the current pro-presidential Duma to realize the need to stop the growth of expenses - the habit of growing both basic and additional incomes is too great. In his opinion, it is the draft budget 2003 that will be a real test of the strength of the relationship between parliament and the government: “A lot will depend on the prime minister, on his balance and rationality, on the deputy prime ministers, on the key politicians in the Duma.” In the current Duma, the official says, nothing on the list of priorities competes with support for the army and law enforcement agencies and, with some lag, support for the regions. But, he believes, the government managed to normalize the situation with allowances and pensions for military personnel and persons equivalent to them (in 2003, additional expenses in these areas will amount to about 150 billion rubles), and taking into account the recently introduced bills, it will be enough to index these payments in accordance with inflation .

At the same time, in general, in real terms, budget expenditures (while maintaining the proportion to the volume in GDP) will increase by 2-3%. The federal budget surplus, according to the Ministry of Finance, will be 1.65% in 2002, and “closer to 1%” in 2003.

Already now, with the introduction of the basic parameters of the budget, the Finance Ministry official claims, we can say that the “problem of 2003” has been solved. “This does not mean,” he adds, “that we have paid all our debts; this means that the government knows how to solve the problem of debt payments in 2003.” In particular, savings in the financial reserve will be used for this (and the government expects not to spend it completely next year), and the possibility of external borrowing in the amount of up to $1 billion. As for such a budget planning factor as tariffs of natural monopolies, The government has set a limit for their growth in 2003 at 15%.

The document submitted by the Ministry of Finance is planned to be considered at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers on June 13.

Ivan GORDEEV