MINSK, 12 June (BelTA) - The growth of salaries in the budget sector will be the main priority of the fiscal policy in 2020 while government support to enterprises will continue declining, Belarus Finance Minister Maksim Yermolovich told BelTA while commenting on the the draft national budget for the next year.
“The main objective that we pursue in the field of fiscal policy in 2020, which we outlined last year, is to ensure a sustained increase in salaries in the public sector. This year we made a big enough step in terms of raising salaries for employees of the public sector and will work to ensure that the level of salaries in the budget sector is not below 80% of the average salary,” Maksim Yermolovich noted.
With regard to pensions, the average amount should not be lower than 40% of the average salary in the country. “These two priorities associated with the well-being of citizens will be the pillars of the fiscal policy,” the minister noted.
The housing policy will be provided with sufficient funding.
“We will be working towards increasing capital investment to restore the volume of fiscal investments. This is a challenging task as revenues will not be growing at a fast pace. Here, the growth in tax revenues depends on Russia's tax maneuver and tax moratorium in Belarus,” Maksim Yermolovich said.
According to the Finance Ministry, government support to enterprises will be gradually curtailed. “It is a natural process. The efficiency of state-owned companies has been improving. The need in budget resources is reducing. A small number of companies will still need attention and support. Government support to enterprises in the country will continue reducing in the long run,” the minister said. Fiscal investments will increase as a result.
“This is our vision of the fiscal policy midterm. We do not expect any drastic changes in the structure of the budget,” Maksim Yermolovich said.
Under prime minister's resolution No.73p, the Finance Ministry, national government bodies, oblast executive committees, Minsk City Hall, the National Bank and the National Academy of Sciences have been tasked with drafting the national budget for 2020 and submitting it to the Council of Ministers before 1 August 2019.
