Stretching the numbers

Last week, the government gave the green light to the 2007 budget draft bill. The deficit will remain unchanged at zł.30 billion, but spending will rise above previous estimates by zł.3.2 billion to zł.242.2 billion. Finance Minister Stanisław Kluza has revised the earlier forecast for revenues from zł.209 billion to zł.212.2 billion, explaining that the economy has grown faster than planned. The growth forecast for 2006 was revised upwards from 4.6 percent to 5.2 percent.

The increased revenues triggered further demands from Agriculture Minister Andrzej Lepper, who wants spending on agriculture and healthcare increased. "Three billion has been found, so another three billion could be found as well," he said during a conference. At the same time, Education Minister Roman Giertych would like to see zł.1.6 billion spent on pay rises for teachers. Whether their demands will be met is another question.

"Some of these demands can be considered, some not. But the budget anchor sets restrictions," Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński told a news conference after the government meeting. "The zł.30 billion rule will not be changed and our coalition partners have to understand that," Kluza added. He said that the extra zł.3.2 billion was to be spent on projects partially financed by the EU.

According to the bill, the Treasury Ministry expects budget revenues from privatization to reach zł.3 billion next year. The government is also planning to raise taxes on petrol, which should boost revenues by zł.1.3 billion.

The budget needs to be adopted by the end of the month and submitted to parliament for debate. (Reuters)