Russia ended 2024 with a record-breaking budget deficit, the Finance Ministry reported late on Monday evening.
This is announced by The Moscow Times, Ukrainian News Agency reports.
It is noted that according to a preliminary estimate, at the end of 2024 it spent RUB 800 billion more than it had planned in the fall, when the law on the budget for 2025-2027 was adopted.
Total spending increased by 24% compared to 2023 to RUB 40.2 trillion.
It was allowed to do this by inflation, which accelerated towards the end of the year.
As a result, non-oil and gas revenues of the budget, including “the largest tax sources (turnover taxes),” turned out to be significantly more than the Ministry of Finance expected just a few months ago: RUB 25.6 trillion - 26% more than in 2023.
The budget rule allows them to be spent, which the Ministry of Finance did.
The report says that oil and gas revenues also increased by 26% to RUB 11.1 trillion, but this is RUB 0.2 trillion less than the Ministry of Finance expected.
The deficit also grew by this amount: it amounted to RUB 3.5 trillion instead of RUB 3.3 trillion.
This is a record-breaking deficit: in 2022 and 2023, the hole in the budget was RUB 3.3 trillion and RUB 3.2 trillion, respectively.
Over the three years of the war, the hole in the budget amounted to RUB 10 trillion.
But in relative terms, it decreased: 1.7% of GDP compared to 2.1% and 1.9% in the previous two years.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, due to the strengthening of Western financial sanctions, which, according to the Central Bank of the russian federation, have already affected 95% of the national banking system, the russian economy is experiencing a shortage of key world currencies.
On January 10, the US imposed sanctions targeting russia's main source of income with sanctions against Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegaz, more than 180 vessels, as well as dozens of oil traders, oilfield service providers, insurance companies, and energy officials.
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