ZAGREB, November 1, 2019 - A 2020 draft budget, outlined by the government on Thursday, plans 145.1 billion kuna on the revenue side and 147.3 billion kuna on the expenditure side, and a majority of government departments can expect a rise in their funding from the state budget.
The largest individual outlay from the next year's budget, 47.8 billion kuna, is planned for the ministry of labour and pension system, which means that it will get 4.7% or 2.1 billion kuna more than in 2019.
Finance Minister Zdravko Marić explained that 42.6 billion kuna would be set aside for pensions in 2020.
The second biggest recipient is the finance ministry, 43.6 billion kuna, or 4.4% more than what it received from the original budget for 2019.
The budget outlays for the science and education ministry are budgeted at 18.6 billion kuna in 2020, up by 7.6% or by 1.3 billion kuna in comparison to the original budget for 2019.
The health ministry is to get 12.4 billion kunminia, which is a rise of 5 percent compared to its budget funding in 2019.
The projected budget outlays for the ministries of defence and interior stand at 5.3 billion kuna (up 5%) and 5.9 billion kuna respectively.
The tourism ministry can expect the biggest increase, 29%, in the funding which is budgeted at 258 million kuna in 2020.
One of the few ministerial departments with a drop in the funding from the state budget is the agriculture ministry, and it can expect the lowering of its sum by 4% to 7.4 billion kuna. The ministry for the management of state property can expect a 10-percent decline in the funds from the state budget to 72.1 million kuna.
The government plans 6.7% higher revenues in the draft 2020 budget in comparison to the original 2019 budget, that is 5.4% more in comparison to the revised 2019 budget, which was also tabled to the parliament on Thursday.
The expenses in next year's budget are higher by 5%, that is by 7 billion kuna, in comparison to this year.
More budget news can be found in the Politics section.
