Budget 2013: Opposition raises questions as government presents next year=?UTF-8?B?4oCZ?=s financial policies in parliament

The National Assembly's standing committees this week are holding discussions of the 2013 draft budget that the government says is "socially-oriented".

The debate so far has centered around how effective the government's basic financial document for next year will be in addressing different social problems in Armenia.

Representatives of the parliamentary opposition argued that the economic growth projected by the government will have no effect in terms of raising the living standards of the population.

Presenting the macroeconomic parameters of the 2013 budget, Finance Minister Vache Gabrielyan said that the draft document calls for about $2.6 billion in revenues and some $2.9 billion in spending, with the deficit standing at around $300 million. The 2013 inflation is projected at the level of 4 percent (plus-minus 1.5 percent) and economic growth at 6.2 percent (based on the first nine months of 2012 Armenia's economy has expanded by 7 percent).  Read more... (609 words)

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