The Czech Ministry of Finance has submitted a budget proposal to the government for the next year, with a projected deficit of 252 billion koruna. This is higher than the 235 billion Koruna deficit the ministry was working with in June. The government coalition will need to discuss the exact details of the budget before it is presented to the Chamber of Deputies by the end of September.
According to the proposal, revenues are expected to be 1.921 trillion koruna, a decrease of 0.3% compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, expenses are set to decrease by 2.2% to 2.173 trillion koruna.
The proposed budget includes a priority for defense spending, which was already approved by parliament earlier this year. Social spending will remain at its current level, ensuring no reduction in the quality of services in this area.
The most significant expenditure in the proposed budget, at 926 billion koruna, is for the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. The Ministry of Education is set to have a budget of 253 billion koruna, with defense receiving over 151 billion koruna. The Ministry of the Interior is expected to have expenses of 97 billion koruna, while the Ministry of Transport will have 1.2 billion koruna less. Almost 95 billion koruna will be allocated to servicing the national debt 2024.
Minister of Finance Zbyněk Stanjura stated that the government is working towards consolidating public budgets. “The proposed budget fully reflects savings of nearly 100 billion koruna from the health package. Despite the increase in expenses for servicing the national debt, we have significantly reduced the deficit compared to this year,” he said.
The proposal calls for a decrease in spending in most budget categories. The most significant cuts will be in the Ministry of Regional Development, vwhere expenses will be reduced by 45.9%. The Ministry of Health will see a 26.5% decrease in expenses, while the Ministry of Industry and Trade will have a 26.2% reduction. The most significant year-on-year increase is in the proposed budget for the Ministry of Defense, whose expenses are set to increase by 35.2%.
The state plans to manage a deficit of 295 billion koruna this year, down from 360.4 billion koruna in the previous year.
The Ministry of Finance was legally required to submit the budget proposal by the end of August. It was made available in the non-public section of the legislative library six minutes before midnight and was only publicly accessible the following morning.