Bode: Crisis affected budget

“These expense cuts in the 2011 budget, for the second consequent year, reflect the pressures of the global economy on the Albanian economy. But we must say that our economy is continuing to perform in positive terms, is continuing to be the economy with the highest growth in the entire European continent. And this is guaranteed even for 2011”, Bode declared.

The government needs money, because the slow economic growth has shrunk tax revenues.

“Certainly, this year’s revenues are different to what we had planned, almost 4.4 less, due to a decrease of the inner demand. We are in a phase when private investments are higher, due to the capital reconstruction of the entire Albanian economy, especially in the telecommunication market, which is one of the greatest contributors of the states’ budget”, Bode declared.

For compensating the lower revenues, the government is obliged to cut 18.3 billion ALL from budget expenses. But keeping the debt under control is not the only concern of the government. The other fear is a further decrease of the economy levels, and the Albanian government has only one hope to avoid it. To increase inner consume, which shrank in the first half of the year.

“The quantity of machines and equipments that have entered Albania is 37% higher than the first six months of 2010, which shows that the companies are in an investment phase. The businesses have taken 11% more loans, and this has a tendency to accelerate in the last months of the year”, Bode declared.

Mr. Bode also confirmed in the Commission of Economy that the Albanian government will remove the custom tax of vehicles for replacing it with a new taxation system in the inner market.

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