FinMin: Budget collections in February amount to 98-99 percent compared to schedule

Budget collections in February were made in an amount similar to the one in January, 98-99 percent compared to the schedule, Public Finance Minister Sebastian Vladescu told Agerpres on Monday.
In January, the execution of the consolidated general budget registered a surplus estimated at 15.3 million lei and the consolidated general budget revenues amounted to 14 billion lei, registering an offset of minus 6.8 percent compared to the same period of 2009, ie 0.4 percent of the GDP.

Regarding budget expenditures in February, Public Finance Ministry (MFP) Secretary of State Gheorghe Gherghina said that personnel expenditures maintained their downward tendency registered in January, when they dropped 3.2 percent compared to January 2008, due to the relevant restructuring and personnel dismissals.

Gherghina mentioned that, in 2010, the personnel expenditures must drop as percentage of the GDP from 9.3 percent in 2009 to 8.7 percent.On the other hand, the Secretary of State mentioned that budget expenditures would be higher over the first quarter, compared to other years.'We let expenditures loose because we wish to have a more linear budget execution throughout the year. Also, the budget deficit for the first quarter, agreed on with the IMF, is slightly higher than in 2009,' Gherghina said.

He added that MFP was analyzing the reduction of the excise on Diesel oil for agriculture and the support schemes for this sector, and a decision would be made next week.The two MFP officials on Monday attended the works of the Senate's Budget-Finance Commission, where the fiscal accountability draft law was debated. The commission finalized the report on the draft law, which is to be debated in the Parliament plenum.