Prague, Aug 22 (CTK) – The budget bill for 2018 is unable to cover the demands for pay rises in the civil service in the current situation, Czech Finance Minister Ivan Pilny (ANO) told journalists on Tuesday.
Thanks to the good economic development and collection of taxes, the Finance Ministry increased the revenues by ten billion crowns as against the May proposal, Pilny said.
The 2018 draft state budget’s expenditures, including the EU subsidies, are projected at 1,342 billion crowns and the revenues at 1,292 billion. The deficit is to amount to 50 billion crowns.
“On the side of revenues, we added ten billion crowns thanks to the good economic development and a better tax collection, but the money is being dissolved in the demands of ministries,” Pilny said.
“If the pay rises occurred, the deficit would be untenable,” he added.
“I can only return to the May version. This would implicate a brutal withdrawal from the ministries of everything we have redistributed,” Pilny said.
“This is desired neither by the ministries nor Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka,” he added.
Pilny said the budget presented to the government would include the expenditures of the chapters, while the sum for the salaries of 12 billion would be presented separately.
“The government will decide on how to use the sum,” he added.
Pilny must submit the budget bill to the government by the end of August.
The government must approve the budget bill and send it to the Chamber of Deputies by the end of September.
The Education Ministry alone is demanding 11 billion crowns to cover the proposed 15 percent pay rise in the educational sector.
