The budget project for 2025 foresees an increase in revenues of 50 billion lei compared to 2024, a sum that allows for compliance with the 7% GDP deficit, announced Romanian Finance Minister Tanczos Barna.
„In the budget, we have an increase in revenues compared to 2024 of 50 billion lei, which is exactly the amount we need to cover the planned expenses and to comply with the 7% deficit.
With this amount, if we do not increase expenses, we do not need any new taxes, no increases."
"The amount of 50 billion comes from the forecast made, on the one hand, by the Forecast Commission on economic growth, comes from the elimination of benefits for salaries in agriculture, construction, and IT, comes from the increase generated by lowering the threshold for micro-enterprises, partially comes a not very large sum, 1.7 billion lei, from special construction tax, comes a part, several billion, once again, with a new, non-populist reserved forecast, from the efficiency increase of the National Agency for Fiscal Administration," explained Tanczos Barna at a meeting with journalists.
According to the presented data, the budget for the Ministry of Defense increases this year to 2.23% of GDP, from 2.18% of GDP last year, with the possibility to further increase to 2.5%.
The budget for pension payments is 182 billion lei, including all types of pensions, representing 9.6% of GDP.
Expenses for public sector personnel are 169.5 billion lei, respectively 9.4% of GDP.
Overall, the budget for this year is built on revenues of 667 billion lei, of which current revenues are 566 billion lei, over 30% of GDP. Investments included in the budget amount to 7.9% of GDP, although the initial target was 7%.
The budget for the year 2025 is based on data from the autumn forecast of the National Commission for Strategy and Forecast.
"I see the budget not only as a tool for some to be interesting for a week, two weeks after approval, and then forget about it.
The budget must be a tool placed in context, in a multi-year context.
Usually, it must come from somewhere and must be an element of continuing on a path towards a certain goal, a certain destination," Tanczos Barna added.