Cabinet call on Finance Minister to lower proposed budget deficit

Finance Minister Marek Belka presented his 2003 budget outline to the Cabinet on Friday, assuming a budget deficit of zl. 46.3 billion, but the ministers called on him to reduce the deficit, preferably to this year's figure of zl. 40 billion. The initial draft of the budget featured a revenue forecast of zl. 146.15 billion, which most analysts found overly pessi mistic. Now Belka is to present a new draft to the Cabinet on July 2. The government does not want to raise personal income taxes, but plans to improve the collection of indirect taxes and limit expenditures by liq uidating Several state funds and agencies. Analysts fear that the gove rnment's efforts to only moderately increase spending and maintain the deficit at this year's level, will be ruined by Parliament. Deputies have already increased this year's budget expenditures by over zl. 1 billion over what the government proposed. (Gazeta Wyborcza, June 22-23, p. 24) T.J.