Parliament of Georgia approves 2021 state budget
With 82 votes for and 0 against the ruling Georgian Dream party members unanimously adopted the state budget as opposition remains on boycott. Photo: Parliament of Georgia/Facebook
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The parliament of Georgia has approved a state budget of 18.4 billion GEL for 2021 at an extraordinary session earlier today.
The state budget includes over 890 million GEL expenditures for quarantine, testing and the COVID-19 vaccine.
The government expects 4.3% economic growth next year, while the revenue from tax is expected to be 12 billion GEL.
Based on the state budget for 2021, government debt is forecasted at 60.1 percent of GDP by the end of 2021.
By the end of 2021 the state debt is forecasted to stand at 33.7 bln GEL, consisting of external debt of 27.7 bln GEL and domestic debt of 5.9 bln GEL.
Georgian PM Giorgi Gakharia has stated earlier today that the government will cover increased water supply fees for families in need living in the cities of Tbilisi, Mtskheta and Rustavi.
Based on the latest IMF forecast the Georgian economy will have lost $1.3 billion this year as a result of the pandemic, while it is expected that it will lose an additional $800 million next year, said Finance Minister Ivane Matchavariani earlier today.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia has stated earlier today that state social assistance and social sustainability will be the main task of the Georgian government in 2021.
Georgian non-governmental organisation the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) has reviewed the 2021 state budget of Georgia and presented its recommendations to help the government better formulate a financial plan for the 2021 fiscal year.
Georgia's state budget revenues in January-December 2020 amounted to 18.03 billion GEL, says the budget execution report of 2020. The state budget received more than 9.36 billion GEL in taxes, which is 104% of the annual plan, says the report.
The Parliament of Georgia has approved an updated state budget of Georgia which is now planned with a 7.7% economic growth forecast instead of 3.4%. In addition, the deficit has been lowered from 7.6% to 6.9% and the government's debt has been lowered to 54.6%.
The 2022 state budget of Georgia has been planned with a 6% economic growth forecast, announces the Ministry of Finance of Georgia. The ministry says that tax revenue will be 23.5% of the gross domestic product (GDP) and the budget deficit will be 4.3% of GDP next year.