Duma, Russian Lower House for State, has approved a new Federal Budget for 2018 - 2020. As expected, the new budget has allows for increased social spending and a higher minimum wage, as well as increased pay for teachers and health care workers, ahead of federal elections in 2018.
Russia’s government has revised downwards the federal budget deficit for 2018 to 1.271 trillion rubles ($21.9 bln). Meanwhile, budget deficit will amount to 819.1 bln rubles ($14.15 bln) in 2019, and 869.9 bln rubles ($15 bln) in 2020.
The overall budgetary system deficit (sum of the federal budget, consolidated regional budgets and budgets of the extra-budgetary funds) shall also decrease from 2.2% of GDP in 2017 to 1.0% of GDP in 2020 (1.9% in 2018 and 1.1% in 2019).
The number illustrates a sluggish economic growth in next coming years.
