Brnabic: Purpose of 2023 Budget to Maintain Fiscal Stability

Ana Brnabic, Berlin, Nov. 3 2022 (BETAPHOTO/SERBIAN GOVERNMENT/PEDJA VUCKOVIC)

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said that the national budget for 2023 mirrors the priorities of her cabinet’s programme for a period between 2022 and 2024, the chief goal being to maintain fiscal stability against a fiscal deficit of 3.3 percent of GDP.

Providing a rationale for a new budget rebalancing bill, Brnabic said that Serbia’s fiscal stability required the deficit of 3.3 percent of GDP, keeping it on the decline and reducing the public debt as well. The prime minster said that under the national budget, Serbia could expect a GDP growth rate of 2.5 percent by the end of 2023.

Brnabic underlined that the Government of Serbia would keep fighting for a steady rise of salaries and pensions. Another move is to reduce the tax burden on salaries to make doing business easier – the non-taxable part of a gross salary will be increased by 12.5 percent, and pension and healthcare social transfers will be reduced, bringing the total salary tax to 60 percent.

Serbia has never had larger budget allocations for capital investment, the environment, energy, education, science, innovation, culture and all other spheres of social and economic life. We are still working to keep the deficit down and the public debt under 60 percent of GDP, Brnabic explained.