{"id":11456,"date":"2022-08-05T18:49:34","date_gmt":"2022-08-05T15:49:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/longreads\/minsk-may-find-it-hard-to-finance-budget-deficit-this-year\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","slug":"minsk-may-find-it-hard-to-finance-budget-deficit-this-year","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11456\/","title":{"rendered":"Minsk may find it hard to finance budget deficit this year"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n By Alaksiej Stry\u017eevi\u010d, BPN<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t * Reproduction prohibited\n<\/p>\n

\n Belarus\u2019 budget deficit is not yet large, but economists are concerned about secrecy surrounding the country\u2019s economic health.<\/b>\n<\/p>\n

Budget deficit<\/span><\/h2>\n

\n\t Belarus’ budget deficit was expected to widen to 1.9 billion rubels as of August 1, in line with the planned figure of 2.8 billion rubels for 2022, Finance Minister Juryj Seliviersta\u016d told STV on July 31.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t He noted that the finance ministry expected Belarus to miss out on up to 1 billion rubles in revenue from the export of potash fertilizers and oil products due to international sanctions. The finance minister assured the reporter that the government had a certain reserve to cover the risk.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Seliviersta\u016d added that “the price of potash fertilizers has increased manifold, so this situation is offset by higher prices.” According to him, exports to Russia have been growing.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t The official noted a surplus of about 600 million rubels in the social security fund and “about 1.2 billion rubles of surplus” in the local budgets, despite a planned small deficit of about 200 million rubels.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t According to the minister, the surpluses enabled the government to gradually raise salaries for the state employees in spring 2022, while pensions should also rise by some 50 rubels.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Seliviersta\u016d said that tax revenues were 0.3 percent less than originally planned, but revenues from local taxes were higher than projected.\n<\/p>\n

Possible measures: tax hike, money expansion<\/span><\/h2>\n

\n\t The surplus of the Social Security Fund and local budgets (of 1.8 billion rubels as of August 1, according to the finance ministry) largely offsets the deficit, said Ale\u015b Alachnovi\u010d, opposition leader Sviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja\u2019s aide for economic reform. Besides, the government can use its reserves left from prior year surpluses, he added.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t The government can also close the gap by raising taxes, said Le\u016d Lvo\u016dski, of the Belarusian Economic Research and Outreach Center. \u201cWe have observed such attempts from time to time,\u201d he noted.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t In a recent move, the Belarusian government introduced taxes on the first apartment (only those who owned more than one apartment paid real estate tax before) and on the collection of berries, mushrooms and medicinal herbs for sale.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Rumors circulated among business leaders in late July that the government was planning to raise value added tax from 20 percent to 23 percent and corporate income tax.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t \u201cRaising taxes amid a crisis does not help. People already don\u2019t have much money,\u201d Lvo\u016dski said.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t He noted that the government might consider money supply expansion to finance the deficit. Other measures may include spending cuts and borrowing.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t However, after Minsk technically defaulted on its obligations a few weeks ago, it can only turn to Russia for credit.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t \u201cIt would be difficult to obtain loans from Russia without the direct participation of the Belarusian army in the war in Ukraine,\u201d Alachnovi\u010d said. \u201cThe regime appears to be trying hard to avoid it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Government keeps economic data secret<\/span><\/h2>\n

\n\t Economic reporting is important during a period of uncertainty, but the Belarusian government keeps more and more information secret.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Officials think that if they do not disclose bad news, economic entities will be happy, Lvo\u016dski said. The government tends to replace objective disclosures with upbeat reports to manipulate the public economic environment, he noted.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t For instance, the prime minister said recently that Belarus had seen a record inflow of foreign direct investment. However, the country\u2019s gross domestic product fell by 4.2 percent in the first six months.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Secrecy only contributes to pessimism. Businesses brace for the worst, while the reality may be different, he added.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Alaksiej Stry\u017eevi\u010d, BPN * Reproduction prohibited Belarus\u2019 budget deficit is not yet large, but economists are concerned about secrecy surrounding the country\u2019s economic health. Budget deficit Belarus’ budget deficit was expected to widen to 1.9 billion rubels as of August 1, in line with the planned figure of 2.8 billion rubels for 2022, Finance […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[22],"class_list":["post-11456","longreads","type-longreads","status-publish","hentry","rubric-theviewer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMinsk may find it hard to finance budget deficit this year | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Alaksiej Stry\u017eevi\u010d, BPN * Reproduction prohibited Belarus\u2019 budget deficit is not yet large, but economists are concerned about secrecy surrounding the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11456\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta 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