REUTERS
The revenue of Ukraine's consolidated budget in January 2016 was UAH 38.1 billion, which was 32.8%, or UAH 9.4 billion, up year-over-year, according to experts of the CASE Ukraine analytical group.
Ukraine's consolidated budget posted a considerable surplus estimated at over UAH 9 billion due to low outlays of the national and local budgets, CASE Ukraine analysts reported as part of the project "The Price of the State: Popular Economy" on Facebook.
Experts say that the revenue of the budget has been swiftly growing. In January 2016, the income of the consolidated budget stood at UAH 38.1 billion, which was 32.8%, or UAH 9.4 billion up year-over-year. Thus, the budget received 5.6% of the annual target in the first month of 2016. And all this was seen when the National Bank of Ukraine did not transfer its revenue to the budget and no additional import duty was collected. What is more, corporate tax receipts paid by companies to the budget shrank by 75.6%, to UAH 600 million due to a change in the advance payment algorithm and return of overpaid corporate tax.
CASE Ukraine estimates that VAT payment, which increased by UAH 7.5 billion, accounted for more than a half (53%) of net budget revenue growth. An increase in income tax by UAH 2.1 billion, excise tax by UAH 2.1 billion, and oil and gas royalties by UAH 900 million also contributed to the revenue growth.
A slowdown in payments from the budget early in the year is explained by a delay in the procedure of the distribution of funds, implementation of projects and announcement of tenders. What is more, experts do not rule out that the government has been accumulating funds to meet its debt repayment schedule.
At the same time, CASE Ukraine projects a deficit of the consolidated budget in 2016 at UAH 27 billion.