Ukraine's budget sees a deficit in H1 / Photo from UNIAN
National budget revenue grew by 12.9% y-o-y, to US$19.5 billion.
The deficit of the Ukrainian national budget's general fund in January-June 2019 was estimated at UAH 6.8 billion, or US$261 million.
Revenue of the national budget grew by 12.9% year-over-year (y-o-y), to UAH 506.8 billion (US$19.5 billion), which accounted for 95.7% of the budget targets, according to the Ukrainian Finance Ministry's website.
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As of July 1, funds on the single treasury account amounted to UAH 13 billion (US$499 million), while the balance of funds on the currency accounts of Ukraine's State Treasury Service was estimated at UAH 81.1 billion (US$3.1 billion) in the equivalent, which is enough for servicing and repaying public debt.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) in January-June transferred UAH 64.9 billion (US$2.3 billion) in profit received in 2018, which was all relevant due payments to the budget, the report said.
In the second half of 2019, there are still risks of non-fulfillment of revenue target due to a stronger hryvnia, Ukraine's national currency, and a lower volume of imports, the ministry said. In this regard, the government needs to make every effort to fulfill its obligations, in particular, to implement the reform of the State Fiscal Service by splitting it into two agencies – the customs and the tax service, which will help reduce tax evasion and smuggling and, consequently, boost budget revenue.
"The actual launch of large-scale privatization will facilitate the flow of funds to finance the budget deficit. Fulfillment of commitments under the EU macro-financial assistance program will help to secure budget financing," the ministry added.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the national budget revenue in January-June 2019 totaled UAH 506.823 billion (US$19.5 billion), which was 5%, or UAH 26.562 billion (US$1 billion) down on the planned indicator.
Ukraine's national budget for 2019 foresees UAH 1.026 trillion, or US$39.4 billion, in revenue and UAH 1.112 trillion, or US$42.7 billion, in spending. The deficit is capped at UAH 89.989 billion, or US$3.5 billion.