Presenting the 2023 draft budget in parliament on Wednesday, Finance Minister Mihály Varga said utility price cuts and defense spending are the factors of economic policy defining the 2023 budget.
The minister said the government maintains a disciplined fiscal policy with an aim of preserving stability and improving balance indicators. Measures to increase revenues were paired with those cutting expenditures to cut state debt and the deficit, he said. The draft budget calculates with GDP growth of 4.1 percent and has a 3.5 percent of GDP target deficit. It sees state debt falling to 73.8 percent of GDP and puts inflation at 5.2 percent for next year, he said. The draft budget contains a HUF 670 billion (EUR 1.7bn) fund to preserve the utility price caps, and a HUF 842 billion defense fund, he said. The budget takes into account the impact of the sanctions on Russia, the war-related energy crisis and inflation and the economic crisis in Europe, he said. Despite those challenges, the government will keep its promise to use resources to bolster the goals most important for Hungarians such as family support, pension protection, preserving the achievements of the utility cost cut scheme and strengthening security, as well as preserving and creating jobs, Minister Varga said.
Photo credit: MTI