Riigikogu embarks on deliberations of 2013 state budget

Oct 23, 2012

TALLINN - The Estonian Riigikogu started deliberating the 2013 draft state budget that amounts to 7.5 billion euros for income and 7.7 billion euros for expenditures, Postimees Online reports.

As compared to 2012, expenditures grow by 1.1 percent and incomes by 2.2 percent.

Finance Minister Jurgen Ligi said in the parliament that next year the unemployment insurance tax will fall but alcohol and tobacco excise taxes will increase. Ligi said that the general tax burden will decrease next year.

"The increase of state budget revenues is not big but the internal change is important, the share of tax income grows," said Ligi.

Ligi added that next year, pensions and unemployment benefits increase. He said that no major wage increases are expected but the wages of people paid by the state should grow faster than the inflation. The wage fund in the state sector as a whole grows by 4.4 percent. Wages of teachers, healthcare workers, culture workers and defense force staff will increase.

The government sector structural surplus is planned at 0.1 percent of GDP. Nominal deficit of the budget is 0.7 percent.

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