The Government Approved the Draft State Budget 2021 for the Second Reading and Submitted it to the Parliament

On November 26, 2020, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the draft state budget for the year 2021, finalized by the Ministry of Finance, for the second reading and submitted it to the Parliament of Ukraine.

"We have completed the preparation of the draft State Budget 2021. It is a high-quality, well-calculated, balanced and feasible document. The Ministry of Finance has carefully considered all amendments and proposals of MPs, set out in the resolution on approving the Budget Conclusions, which provide the amendments to the document while preparing it for the second reading, "- noted Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko during the presentation of the document at an extraordinary meeting of the Parliament.

The Budget Conclusions were based on 2,451 proposals of parliamentarians, which, in fact, is approximately another such budget. The Ministry of Finance has taken into account the majority of proposals submitted by the parliamentarian’s, according to the priorities of expenditure and possibilities of the revenue part of the budget.

"It was important for us that all expenditures were confirmed by real revenues. There is no place for inflated or hidden revenues. In the process of finalization, we held discussions with the IMF on developing a common vision of the main budget parameters within the current program between Ukraine and the IMF - the revenues, the expenditures and the deficit indicators. In general, the budget-2021 parameters coincide with the estimates of the Fund's experts, which was important for the continuation of successful cooperation between Ukraine and the IMF, "- Sergii Marchenko said.

In the draft state budget, revised by the Ministry of Finance for the second reading voting, the budget deficit of the general government sector to GDP was reduced from 5.8% to 5.24 %, while the state budget deficit was cut from 6% to 5.5% (the State Budget for 2020 provided for the deficit of 7.5%). At the same time, a gradual reduction of the budget deficit is planned in the medium term.

Budget revenues reflect what revenues the economy will actually be able to provide next year without raising taxes.

The revenues of the draft state budget for the year 2021 are increased by UAH 21 billion and are projected at UAH 1,092 billion. The expenditures of the draft state budget are envisaged at UAH 1,328 billion. The expenditures of the general fund of the state budget were reduced by UAH 12.8 billion. This allowed reducing the budget deficit by UAH 23.7 billion.

At the same time, these funds are enough to finance all the priority needs of the state. These are socio-economic development of territories, social protection, health care, education, science, culture, sports, infrastructure development, support of the military sphere, agricultural sector, ecology, investment projects and other priority areas.

"The government will continue to take all possible measures to ensure that our country successfully copes with the covid-19 crisis, the economy recovers and has the opportunity to develop, while the welfare of citizens is significantly increased. The approval of the draft state budget is a prerequisite for the country's financial recovery. We will form financial immunity to the pandemic, "-  Sergii Marchenko commented.

The main task of the Ministry of Finance in the process of preparing the draft budget-2021 for the second reading is to support citizens after the coronavirus disease, support business activity and continue the ongoing transformation processes of the country's development in important areas.

"The draft state budget is a road map for 2021, which will make our country successful and the economy strong in the medium term. The approval of the draft state budget for 2021 by the Government, and later, I hope, by the Parliament, is our joint responsibility for the financial conditions in which we will all live next year, ”-  Sergii Marchenko emphasized.