Prague/Luxembourg, Oct 11 (CTK) – Czech Finance Minister Andrej Babis (ANO) wants to complete this year with a balanced or surplus state budget and he would also like a balanced budget next year, he said during a meeting of the EU finance ministers in Luxembourg yesterday.
He said the projected deficit of 60 billion crowns in 2017 is a compromise negotiated with the government coalition partners, the Social Democrats (CSSD) and Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL).
The state budget had a surplus of 82.3 billion as from the end of September, while the approved deficit for the full year is 70 billion.
“I suppose the deficit will be minimally at zero, maybe we will have a surplus. And we will also reduce the state debt,” Babis said.
He said he wants to make the Czech Republic one of the five least indebted countries in Europe.
At the end of September, the coalition government sent a draft state budget for 2017 with a deficit of 60 billion crowns to the Chamber of Deputies.
“This is a coalition bill. If I were deciding about it alone, it would be balanced. I was fighting with representatives of the CSSD and KDU-CSL who proposed 85 billion, so I am eventually glad that I succeeded with 60 billion,” Babis said.
He said the CSSD deals with neither the debt nor the deficit. “They do not care whether we will be indebted or not,” Babis said.
Economist Marek Drimal, from the Komercni banka bank, said it is realistic that the state budget would be balanced or even have a small surplus this year.
He said this resulted from a higher sum collected in taxes and lower investments.
However, several economic analysts said previously that the budget deficit is lower due to lower public investments.
“The (state budget) surplus would be unwanted and caused by the inability of the state administration to implement infrastructure construction projects,” UniCredit Bank head economist Pavel Sobisek said.
Drimal said the Czech public debt might get under 40 percent for the first time from 2011.
($1=24.209 crowns)
