Finance Minister Mart Võrklaev (RE) said on “Actualses Kamera” that although the economic situation has worsened since the publication of the economic forecast, the state budget still needs to be drawn up on the basis of the economic forecast.
According to Võrklaeva, the basis of the budget is the economic forecast, and even if economic conditions may change, the budget must be prepared according to the forecast. “What life will bring next year, whether the situation becomes more difficult, it will become clear when that time comes and then these decisions will have to be made,” she said.
“Personally I am of the opinion that the state budget must be prudent in terms of expenditure. Of course, in difficult times – especially when there is a risk that tax revenues may be lower – every expenditure must be evaluated next year as well and think about whether it is necessary,” said the net ship.
According to Võrklaeva, it is to be expected that next year’s investments will also help the Estonian economy, he said that it will not be easy either for the Estonian people or for the government.
Võrklaev would like to prepare the 2025 budget in the same way as next year’s budget. “Maybe we’ll discuss the biggest changes in the spring when the economic forecasts come in to see what the state looks like so we can give people certainty and a clear understanding of what’s going to happen in the fall of 2024 in terms of the 2025 budget,” Võrklaev said.
The leader of the Social Democratic Party, Jevgeni Ossinovski, said that the next fiscal package should focus on the richest, i.e. property taxation and limiting the formation of OÜ.
The network disagrees with Ossinovski and says that in recent years the income of people with much lower incomes has increased. He cited, for example, the increase in the tax-free minimum income and the elimination of tax relief.
“If you look at Estonians’ money, you see that it is rather in the hands of the middle class. Any further tax changes would hit the middle class,” Võrklaev said.
2023-12-08 19:39:00
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