Next year's budget will see an increase in revenue by 2 percent and in expenditures by 5 percent. (photo: Ivan Prole)
TALLINN - Estonia's parliament has passed a budget for next year that will see a 2 percent increase in revenue.
The Riigikogu passed it with a vote of 55-32. the budget increases spending by 5 percent to 6 billion euros while increasing evenue to to 5.7 billion euros - a modest deficit of 1.6 percent.
“Everyone who takes even a peak at international media or at what is happening in a lot of EU countries where the economic crisis has been replaced by a very serious public debt crisis, understands that the deficit should be kept as small as possible and at the same time as big as needed to move toward a balanced budget,” Taavi Roivas, the head of parliament’s Finance Committee,was quoted by Bloomberg as saying.
It will be Estonia's first annual budget as part of the eurozone, which it is due to join as of Jan.1, 2011.
The budget's largest increase was in the field of education, which rose by 8 percent of GDP. Costs for defense grew to 1.9 percent of GDP.
The added revenue is expected to come primarily from higher VAT and social taxes.
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