Cuts in welfare, defense and bureaucracy to net budget zł. 20 billion by 2007

Thanks to rationalization of administration costs as well as the elimination of economic pathologies in 2005 alone the budget will have additional revenues of around zł. 5.8 billion. By 2007, expenditure cuts will save around zł. 20 billion. Some zł. 12 billion will be saved by narrowing social welfare benefits, including lowering early retirement payments as well as raising the retirement age for women. Cuts in defense spending by 2007 will save yet another zł. 4.2 billion. Additionally, the Cabinet also announced a "to widen the tax base" by zł. 3 billion, but it did not provide any specific details of the new tax hikes. "The Finance Minister will present them by the end of October," said Economy Minister Jerzy Hausner. (Rzeczpospolita, p. A1; Parkiet, p. 1) A.Z.