Truth of budget incomes

“It says that the incomes for the first two months of 2013 increased with 0.8%, but the truth is that in the  truth is that the incomes grew with more than 3.5%. If for 2012 there was a falling trend, 2013 has a clear growth”, Berisha declared.

Berisha is correct about the numbers of the first two months, which is the part that the European Commission refers to. The total budget incomes in the first two months mount up to 49.96 billion ALL or 0.8% higher than one year ago, due to the strong increase in January, which came not from the taxes, but other sources of unstable character, such as fees and profit of the Albanian Bank.

But the Prime Minister’s version for the trimester is not only incorrect, but it gives a completely different story. Top Channel refers to the official data given by the government itself, more exactly, the Ministry of Finances, which is the only official authority that can legally publish the fiscal indicators of Albania.

According to this data, the total budget incomes for the first trimester was 75.5 billion ALL, from 78.5 that it was one year earlier. The budget incomes have not increased with 3.5%, as the Prime Minister claims, but have fallen with 3.8%.

This is the worst result since 2009, when due to the inflation, the incomes should have grown at least 10%, compared to three years ago.

As the government figures clearly show, the trend of 2013 is not growth, as the Prime Minister says, but on the contrary, it is the highest plunge that the state budget has seen in many years.

Budget’s plunge

Recent official data show that the financial situation of the Albanian government is deteriorating quickly. The budget revenues for the first three months of this year were only 75.5 billion ALL.

This was the lowest point, since 2009, a phenomena that the budget has never faced after that.

According to the Ministry of Finances, compared to one year ago, the revenues of the first trimester were 3.8% lower. Detailed financial information from the government show that this deterioration is mainly due to the lowered incomes from the basic consumption taxes, such as VAT.

The VAT incomes for the first trimester of this year were 10% lower than one year ago. The quick plunge is obliging the government to take more loans. The Ministry of Finances has taken more than $189 million in loans, which is 67% of plan for the entire year, putting in question the deficit funds for the rest of the year.

Experts say that the financial danger is great, not only due to the economic slowdown, but also the electoral pressures on the budget 

Top Channel