Revenues fall victim to elections
Budget revenues have reportedly dropped by 10.2 percent in April compared to the same month in 2011, according to provisional figures the Finance Ministry is studying.
The election period did nothing to help state receipts as the tax collection and monitoring mechanism traditionally relaxes ahead of polls, and did so again this year despite the crisis.
Value-added tax revenues declined by 13.5 percent year-on-year, while customs takings fell by 12 percent. The drop in VAT revenues points to the considerable cash flow problems that enterprises are facing, but was aggravated by the election period.
Total revenues before tax returns were 13.4 percent smaller than in April 2011.
In the first four months of the year, the revenue decline amounted to just 0.5 percent, but this was thanks to the extraordinary property tax tagged onto electricity bills that was imposed this winter for the first time. Property taxes posted growth of 1,793 percent compared to the same four months of 2011.