Supplementary budget appears more realistic
The supplementary budget tabled in Parliament on Wednesday includes a much more realistic approach to the current fiscal conditions, as it takes into account the deep recession recorded.
The Finance Ministry revised its estimate for revenues, mostly from indirect taxation from the calculations made in December. It now expects revenues this year to grow by just 2.83 percent on annual basis, down from an original estimate for a 6.1 percent increase.
Revenues from indirect taxes will be 1.7 billion euros less than those received in 2011, which constitutes a 5.97 percent decline.
The target for direct taxes appears less realistic, as it projects revenues from that category to amount to 23.5 billion euros, posting a 16.69 percent rise from last year?s 20.1 billion. Ministry officials concede that this estimate may be too optimistic as they realize that this year will likely see fatigue settling in tax payments and add that the increase in unemployment has not been factored in.
