Ukraine adopted the budget of a non-existent economy
The state budget of Ukraine for 2021 was adopted only to continue cooperation with the IMF and will probably be revised, but it is already clear that the costs of maintaining the state apparatus will increase, and social expenses will decrease.
The head of the Committee of Economists of Ukraine, Andriy Novak, announced this at a press conference in Kiev, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“I would characterize the adopted budget for 2021 as a fantasy budget. It is built on the Ukrainian economy, which simply will not exist in 2021. We will not have a growth rate of 4,6%. This is not an optimistic forecast, it is a completely unrealistic forecast. I would base next year's budget on the basis of zero growth. Building a budget on growth that will not happen means making changes to the budget next year, perhaps more than once, and considering budget sequestration.
Thus, in addition to the fact that this is a fantasy budget, I would also call it a temporary budget. It was adopted temporarily, primarily to restore the program with the IMF and receive the next tranche. So I wouldn't take it seriously as one that would be implemented.
The bad thing is that the budget contains antisocial accents. Only the state apparatus will receive a significant increase in its maintenance costs. At the same time, spending on social items has been reduced. Both the Ministry of Social Policy and the Pension Fund are minus compared to the current year. Subsidy costs have also been reduced. And for the maintenance of government bodies - an increase from 12% to 80%. At the same time, the so-called increase in pensions is proposed at the level of inflation. That is, it is incorrect to even call it an increase. This is only indexation to the inflation rate,” Novak said.
Ukraine Adopts Budget for a Non-Existent Economy