Consolidated budget to have $10bn surplus next year

The surplus of Russia's consolidated budget will amount to about 300bn rubles (about $9.87bn) in 2004, Deputy Finance Minister Tatiana Golikova declared at a meeting of the tripartite commission for regulating budget relations today. According to her, revenues of the consolidated budget are planned to be 4.5 trillion rubles ($148.11bn), while expenses are to amount to 4.2 trillion rubles ($138.24bn).

Golikova also noted that the total amount of revenues of regional budgets in 2004 was estimated at 1.801 trillion rubles ($59.28bn), expenses at 1.892 trillion rubles ($62.28bn). She stressed that the 90bn-ruble (about $3bn) deficit does not take into account subsidies from the federal budget. Some 306.7bn rubles ($10.1bn) will be allocated to regions from the federal budget next year. So, the surplus of regional budgets will be 216.7bn rubles ($7.1bn).