The government on Monday passed the 2020 draft budget framework and a medium-term outlook for 2021 and 2022 with the planned 40-billion-crown deficit in all three years.
In 2020, the Czech Republic is expected to register a revenue of 1,558.1 billion crowns and expenditure of 1,598.1 billion crowns, with a deficit of 40 billion crowns, according to the draft budget.
The proposal of the state budget is based on the assumption that the growth of the economy will be around 2.4 percent between 2019 and 2020. The Ministry of Finance estimates the average inflation rate at 1.6 percent, according to a government press release.
The priorities for next year’s budget are raising pensions and teachers’ wages, parental benefit and defense spendings, among others. Support for research, development and innovation will also be significantly strengthened, and a total of 47.6 billion crowns is earmarked for this area in the next year’s budget, which is 5.6 billion crowns more year-on-year. In the meantime, the number of jobs at the ministries are to be cut by 10 percent
“For me, the most important thing is that, despite a slight slowdown in the economy, we do not count on a deficit increase next year. At the same time, we did not resign from any government priorities. Thanks to a number of savings, mainly in the state’s operating expenses and the planned measures on the revenue side, such as the introduction of digital tax or the modification of rules for the creation of insurance reserves, we can continue to fulfill our program statement, ” said Finance Minister Alena Schillerova.
The government has to pass the budget and send it to the Chamber of Deputies by the end of September.