Rada Adopts Law On State Budget For 2017

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has adopted the law on the state budget for 2017.

A total of 274 members of the Ukrainian Parliament adopted the bill No. 5000 on the whole, while 226 votes were enough to pass the decision, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

The document approves the outlook on the gross domestic product growth for 2017 at 3% at the inflation rate of 8.1%.

The draft state budget for 2017 was grounded on the macroeconomic growth scenario that envisions real GDP growth of 3% and nominal GDP growth to UAH 2,584.9 billion.

It is expected that inflation (December 2017 over December 2016) will be 8.1% and the producers prices index (December-to-December) - 108.5%.

The minimum wage is expected to be UAH 3,200.

The document also expects revenues from privatization to make UAH 17.1 billion.

The ceiling size of the state debt as at late 2017 is set at 1,716.630,217 billion.

Initially, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine had suggested that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopt the state budget for 2017 with the revenues of UAH 706.269,842 billion and expenditures of UAH 775.264,946 billion.

In 2017, it was expected to oblige the National Bank of Ukraine to transfer the profit of UAH 41 billion to the state budget.

The draft state budget for 2017 envisions transfer of UAH 45 billion by the central bank to the state budget for second reading.

Besides the document envisions decrease of the Pension Fund's deficit of 9.5% to UAH 141.315 billion for second reading.

The updated document raises revenues to UAH 721,398.426 million and expenditures to UAH 790,393.530 million.

The draft state budget for 2017 envisions channeling UAH 1 billion of subsidies for covering the difference in the prime cost of coal production by state-owned mines and UAH 847.1 million for restructuring of the peat and coal industries (closure of mines).

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, to adopt the law on the state budget for 2017, the Verkhovna Rada had adopted a number of accompanying laws including those envisioning an increase of excise fees for alcoholic drinks and tobacco goods and a decrease of the rents for extraction of crude and redistribution of financing of education and medical sectors at the local level.