The Council of Ministers forecasts a 6.2% increase in the republican budget revenues in 2018.

The Council of Ministers forecasts a 6.2% increase in the republican budget revenues for 2018. This was announced by the Prime Minister of Belarus, Andrei Kobyakov, at a meeting of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers, as reported to BELTA by the press service of the Belarusian government.

A meeting of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers, chaired by Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov, was held on August 16. Drafts of the socio-economic development forecast, the budget, and the main directions of monetary and credit policy of Belarus for 2018 were considered. Regarding the draft budget, according to Andrei Kobyakov, the fundamental requirement for its balance is maintained. "We cannot spend more than we earn, and we must live within our means. It is planned that the revenues of the republican budget will increase by 6.2% in 2018," he stressed.

As the head of government noted, active work on the drafts of these documents has been underway for 4 months. Two scenarios for economic development, depending on various external and internal conditions, have been taken as a basis. The first is a target scenario, on the basis of which the draft forecast of socio-economic development of Belarus has been developed. The conservative development scenario has been taken as the basis for calculating the budget. "The principles of evaluating the performance of managers at all levels based on key performance indicators are maintained in the forecast documents. For the government and the National Bank, these indicators will be the most important parameters of the forecast. There are 7 of them in total," noted Andrei Kobyakov.

Under the target scenario, GDP growth is forecast at 3.4%, labor productivity at 2.8%; investments in fixed capital will exceed the expected investments for 2017 by 6.8%; exports will grow by 6% with a practically balanced foreign trade; it is expected to attract $1.45 billion in foreign direct investment; inflation for the year (December to December) should not exceed 7%; real disposable incomes of the population in 2018 will grow by 3.2%. "These parameters allow us to reach the economic growth trajectory envisaged by the five-year program. It is proposed to maintain a vertically integrated system of key indicators for managers at all levels. The main emphasis in this system is on qualitative (financial) indicators, exports, and the creation of new jobs," stressed the Prime Minister.

The Head of Government drew attention to the need for the target parameters of economic development for 2018 to align with the development parameters stipulated by the five-year plan. This primarily involves ensuring the balance of payments and budget, and the stability of the financial system that stimulates economic growth. Andrei Kobyakov stated that all economic policy instruments should be focused on these goals. The Prime Minister emphasized the need to significantly enhance the competitiveness of Belarusian goods and services in foreign markets and reduce the economy's dependence on fluctuations in commodity markets. "Export growth of 6% is a very challenging task. Growth should be primarily ensured by increasing the physical volumes of machinery, agricultural products, and services," he noted.

Another aspect is the creation of new jobs and new enterprises with the active involvement of private capital in this process. The focus is also on the development of regions with high production potential and appropriate infrastructure. The Prime Minister highlighted the financial recovery of enterprises and economic sectors, the resolution of long-standing problems of debt burden from loans and borrowings, as well as public income, wages in the public sector, pension payments, the formation of tariff policy, and corresponding social protection measures.

Andrei Kobyakov noted that regarding tax policy, it is proposed not to change the composition and number of tax payments. According to him, the tax burden on the economy should not increase. "In terms of monetary policy, we have made significant progress this year. Rates on new loans for the real sector have decreased by 7.6 percentage points this year, and the refinancing rate has been reduced to 12% per annum. This is a noticeable decrease. It is important to maintain the achieved stability in the country's currency and deposit markets. The main efforts of heads of state bodies, enterprises, and banks should be directed towards finding solutions for 'unwinding' old debts," Andrei Kobyakov summarized.

News of Belarus (BELTA)