Armenia`s government approves 2025 draft budget 

ArmInfo.At the session on September 26, the RA Government approved the draft law "On the 2025  State Budget", which will be sent to the National Assembly of the Republic for approval in accordance with the established procedure.

According to RA Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan, the country's GDP  is planned at 11.050 trillion drams in 2025, with economic growth of  5.6% and a GDP deflator of 3.5%. The average inflation in the country  in the next financial year will be 3.5%.

The Minister emphasized that according to the draft law, the revenues  of the 2025 state budget of Armenia are envisaged at 2.9 trillion  drams, expenses - 3.5 trillion drams, and a deficit of 609.4 billion  drams. The revenue side of the state budget is planned to be provided  by tax revenues and state duties in the amount of 2.8 trillion drams,  official grants - 19.1 billion drams, other income - 94.045 billion  drams. Improving the quality of tax administration should lead to an  improvement in the "taxes - GDP" ratio by 0.7 percentage points,  thereby reaching the target level of 25%.

Of the total expenditure, 2.740 trillion drams will be allocated for  current expenditure and 743 billion drams for capital expenditure.  Moreover, the share of capital expenditure in the country's GDP in  2025 will be 6.6%. The policy in the structure of capital expenditure  in the areas of education, healthcare, defense and social protection  will be aimed at revealing human capital and accumulating physical  capital. Significant volumes of the state budget expenditure will be  directed to increasing the state's defense capability in order to  counter the risks associated with state security. The state treasury  deficit, the minister continued, is planned to be covered by both  internal and external sources, including 255.8 billion drams from  internal sources and 353.6 billion drams from external sources. At  the same time, in 2025, the state treasury deficit will continue to  grow by 5.5%, after which it will be reduced to 3% in the medium  term, which will allow for more effective management of the public  debt. By the end of the next financial year, the government's debt  will be 53.5%.

The Minister noted that the remaining funds allocated for the  implementation of capital construction programs in 2024 will be  carried over to 2025. Along with the draft state budget, a revised  medium-term expenditure program for 2025-2027 will also be submitted  to the country's parliament.

According to the draft law, in 2025, the basic salary of persons  holding government positions and positions in the civil service will  be 83.2 thousand drams. The total interest rate of the annual  remuneration fund for civil servants will be 10% of the basic salary  of civil servants. In 2025, the program for compensating citizens'  deposits in the Sberbank of the former USSR will continue to be  implemented jointly with VTB Bank. It will be extended to citizens  born after June 30, 1941.

95.4 billion drams will be allocated to the Reserve Fund of the  Government of the Republic of Armenia