Budget deficit started to increase in Russia 05.14.2024, 18:35

Russia’s federal budget deficit resumed in April after a surplus in March. writes about this “Kommersant” According to data from the Ministry of Finance.

According to the statement of the Ministry of Finance, the difference between accumulated income and expenses since the beginning of the year has increased almost 2.5 times – from 607 billion rubles at the end of the first quarter to 1.484 trillion rubles at the end of the first four months of 2024.

Although there was a 50 percent increase in revenues (11.7 trillion rubles) compared to the same period last year, the April deficit amounted to 877 billion rubles due to the decrease in revenues and the simultaneous increase in expenses compared to March.

“In April, the federal budget returned to deficit after a surplus in March. The reason for the almost 2.5-fold increase in the deficit was increased expenses – the Ministry of Finance explained this by the continuation of the “preliminary season” as at the beginning of the year, the publication writes.

At the end of four months, the expenditure part of the budget reached 13.2 trillion rubles, exceeding the figure for the same period in 2023 by 21.5%. The finance department announced “accelerated” financing of expenses in February-April through “immediate conclusion of contracts and advance payments.”

In the first third of the year, budget revenues increased thanks to both non-oil and gas and oil and gas revenues. Non-oil and gas revenues reached 7.5 trillion rubles (+37% compared to January-April last year), of which 4.4 trillion came from VAT collections (+27%). Oil and gas revenues increased by 82% to 4.2 trillion rubles, including the payment of additional income tax by the end of 2023 and in the first quarter of this year.

Before that economists warned about the consequences of abolishing personal income tax for low-income Russians.

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