Ministry of Finance proposes increase in budget deficit amid revised revenue forecasts for 2024The Kazakh Ministry of Finance has proposed increasing the budget deficit from 3.535 trillion tenge (2.6% of GDP) to 3.596 trillion tenge (2.7% of GDP) due to a reduction in projected revenues.This proposal is part of a draft law titled "On Amendments and Additions to the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the Government Budget for 2024–2026," which is open for public discussion until November 9, 2024.The ministry aims to revise the budget deficit estimate following a downward adjustment in revenue forecasts."The updated revenue forecast for the government budget (excluding transfers) for 2024 is set at 14.12 trillion tenge, reflecting a decrease of 2 trillion tenge from the approved plan. This includes a reduction of 3.085 billion tenge in tax revenues, an increase of 1.081 trillion tenge in non-tax revenues, and an increase of 3.380 billion tenge from the sale of fixed assets," according to the draft law.Additionally, the forecast for transfers to the National Fund is expected to decrease by 1.46 trillion tenge, bringing the total to 4.5 trillion tenge, primarily due to a reduction in oil production volumes."A projected decrease in revenues of 1.33 trillion tenge is attributed to a reduction in oil production volumes by 5.1 million tonnes (from 95.4 million tonnes to 90.3 million tonnes) by Tengizchevroil, due to the postponement of the expansion project's launch to 2025 and a downward adjustment by 127.91 billion tenge due to revised calculations based on the actual financial performance during the first nine months of 2024," the memo explains.The updated forecast for transfers in 2024 is now 6.07 trillion tenge, an increase of 2 trillion tenge from the initial plan. Overall, the revised expenditures for the government budget are projected at 24.045 trillion tenge, an increase of 61.31 billion tenge compared to the approved figure. (ICE ALMATY)

Fonte notizia: INTERFAX