In Latvia, the budget deficit could be in the amount of a billion euros this year, the Minister of Finance Jānis Reirs (JV) said in an interview with TV3 on 900 seconds on Tuesday.
“The budget deficit could be about a billion euros or 9-10% of tax revenues,” the finance minister said, adding that the current budget deficit is about 500 million euros.
Reir also noted that in early March, budget revenues were forecast to fall from 600 million euros to 1.5 billion euros this year. “Preliminary data for August show that we will probably not reach their maximum or pessimistic limit,” the finance minister said, noting that May was the most difficult month in terms of revenue, with the largest deficit.
At the same time, Reirs pointed out that – considering that this crisis is related to the lack of external demand, and not to structural problems in the Latvian economy or problems in public administration, no changes will be made in the share of budget expenditures. “In a classic situation, we would have to consolidate, but we will not do so and allow a budget deficit,” the minister said.
The Minister of Finance also added that a medium-term budget has been submitted to the European Commission, which does not envisage changes in the amount and structure of expenditures, while planning to achieve a balanced budget within three years of growth.
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