In accordance with the preparation schedule for the 2024 state budget, Latvian ministries and other central institutions have submitted plans for priority activities worth EUR 1.983 billion for the year 2024, according to representatives from the Ministry of Finance.
Independent institutions have submitted activities worth EUR 31.8 million, whereas ministries and other central institutions have submitted activities worth nearly EUR 1.952 billion.
Minister of Finance Arvils Ašeradens says that
one of the recommendations from the European Commission is reducing the state budget’s deficit.
This is why this year ministries were more responsible in this year’s budget planning, and requests for the state budget are EUR 250 million lower when compared with the state budget for 2023.
The largest funding requests are planned for teachers’ wages and due to the increase in healthcare and defence expenditures.
Requests to cover losses in the transport sector are significant as well, as are requests to increase wages of officials in the interior affairs system, various education initiatives, as well as plans to link maintenance to the minimum wage amount and additional expenses that have surfaced in the Rail Baltica project.
The ministry also reports that development of the next year’s budget is going as planned.
On the 15th of August Latvia’s government plans to review a report on macroeconomic indexes, revenue and general government budget balance outlook for 2024, 2025 and 2026. The government will also look at the Fiscal Risks Declaration, the report on the state base budget and state special budget base and results of the expenditures review for 2024, 2025 and 2026.
It is also planned to go through reports about ministries’ and other central state institution’ priorities for 2024, 2025 and 2026.
The medium-term macroeconomic development scenario for 2023 – 2026 was developed in June 2023 based on GDP data for Q1 2023, as well as macroeconomic information available at the time.
The fiscal space for next and future years will be corrected by the adoption of tax guidelines depending on supported activities and their adoption schedule.
In accordance with the budget development schedule, it is planned to submit the budget draft to the Saeima on the 12th of October.
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