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The approved budget is based on 3% growth of real GDP amid 7.4% inflation.
The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, passed the national budget of Ukraine for 2019 with the budget deficit limit set at UAH 89.989 billion (US$3.20 billion), or 2.3% of GDP, revised and approved by the Cabinet of Ministers for the second reading.
Some 239 lawmakers voted in favor of relevant bill No. 9000, taking into account the proposals of the Verkhovna Rada's budget committee for the second reading and 240 MPs backed the bill as a whole, with a minimum of 226 votes required, an UNIAN correspondent said.
The approved budget is based on 3% growth of real GDP amid 7.4% inflation.
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The budget's revenue is set at UAH 1.026 trillion (US$36.64 billion) and spending at UAH 1.112 trillion (US$39.71 billion), which is UAH 18 billion (US$643 million) higher than the initial project adopted in the first reading.
The maximum level of state debt as of December 31, 2019 is set at UAH 2.060 trillion (US$73.57 billion), while government-guaranteed debt is capped at UAH 388.6 billion (US$13.88 billion).
The minimum subsistence level per person per month in 2019 will be UAH 1,853 (US$66.18) from January 1, 2019 and UAH 1,936 (US$69.14) from July 1, and UAH 2,027 (US$72.39) from December 1.
The minimum wage will be raised to UAH 4,173 (US$149) per month from January 1, or up to UAH 25.13 (US$0.90) per hour.
Introducing the bill, Finance Minister Oksana Markarova noted that the priorities remained unchanged, and the budget would be "balanced and realistic." "The deficit is within 2.3% of GDP," she said and asked to support the bill as a whole with the amendments that were endorsed by the budget committee.
"This will give us an opportunity to end 2018 with all costs paid and to confidently enter 2019," she added.
As UNIAN reported, the Verkhovna Rada on September 21 adopted the draft budget of Ukraine for 2019, which was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers, with 3% growth of real GDP amid 7.4% level.
The budget of Ukraine for 2018 envisages revenue in the amount of UAH 917.9 billion (US$32.78 billion), expenditures in the amount of UAH 991.7 billion (US$35.42 billion), the deficit level is set at UAH 80.6 billion (US$2.88 billion), or 2.4% of GDP.