Prague, Nov 25 (CTK) – Czech lawmakers proposed to transfer a total of 44 billion crowns in the second reading of the draft state budget for 2016 for the benefit of the military, border protection, education and social affairs yesterday.
Finance Minister Andrej Babis (ANO) said he will announce his stance on the proposed changes in the third reading to which the lawmakers sent the draft state budget yesterday.
The Chamber of Deputies passed the revenues of 1,181 billion crowns, expenditures of 1,251 billion crowns and a deficit of 70 billion crowns in October already. Yesterday, the lawmakers could only propose transfers within the budget.
Last year, lawmakers proposed transfers worth 3.5 billion crowns. The budget committee recommended transfers worth 1.9 billion crowns last week.
The highest transfer was proposed by the opposition Civic Democrats (ODS) yesterday. They want to take a total of 24 billion crowns from some 30 items and transfer them to the government budget reserve.
ODS deputy group head Zbynek Stanjura said the party wants to show where it is possible to find savings in the budget.
Ivan Gabal (government Christian Democrats, KDU-CSL) proposed that 2.28 billion crowns should be transferred from the government´s budget reserve to the development of the military and called on lawmakers to take a responsible attitude to the country´s defence.
However, he was told that the budget reserve cannot be cut below the set level.
One of the lawmakers who said so was Miroslav Kalousek (TOP 09), former finance minister, who recommended that supporters of the proposal seek money in non-investment subsidies to business entities.
He said this would give less money to Babis for his business, while the state would have more money for defence.
Kalousek said previously the subsidies to business entities support Babis´s Agrofert Holding.
Lawmakers proposed a number of other changes to the draft state budget that must be passed in the first half of December.
($1=25.376 crowns)
