Parliament approves 2006 budget bill

Parliament approved the 2006 budget bill with 196 votes against seven, with opposition MPs abstaining, late on Monday. The 2006 budget projects the pension-reform adjusted ESA95 general government deficit at 4.7% of the GDP in 2006, down from a respective 6.1% projected for 2005. The approved budget targets a central budget GFS deficit of Ft 1,531 billion with next year's central budget expenditure planned at Ft 7,508.9 billion and with total revenues of Ft 5,975.9 billion. The budget bill has been calculated with projected economic growth of 4% and annual average inflation of 2% next year. Under the approved act, next year's central budget expenditure is set to rise by 9.1% from 2005 projected central budget spending of Ft 6,877.3 billion, while the 2006 revenue target is 5.5% lower than the Ft 6,320.5 billion revenues projected for 2005 by the Finance Ministry in its latest forecast last week. The 2006 cashflow-based GFS central budget deficit target is sharply up from a projected Ft 556.8 billion deficit projected for 2005.
The approved expenditure figure is Ft 197.7 billion more than in the originally budget bill submitted to Parliament at the end of September, and the revenue figure is Ft 200 billion more, meaning the deficit figure is Ft 2.3 billion less than originally planned.