The Czech Ministry of Finance has submitted its budget proposal for the next year to the government, projecting a deficit of 252 billion koruna. This deficit is higher than the 235 billion koruna deficit the ministry was working with in June. The government coalition will need to discuss the exact details of the budget before it is presented to the Chamber of Deputies by the end of September.

The budget proposal anticipates revenues of 1.921 trillion koruna, a decrease of 0.3% compared to the previous year, while expenses are set to decrease by 2.2% to 2.173 trillion koruna.

The budget proposal prioritizes defense spending, which was approved by parliament earlier this year, while social spending will remain at its current level to ensure the quality of services in this area is not reduced.

The most significant expenditure in the proposed budget, at 926 billion koruna, is allocated to the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. The Ministry of Education will have a budget of 253 billion koruna, with defense receiving over 151 billion koruna. The Ministry of the Interior is expected to have expenses of 97 billion koruna, while the Ministry of Transport will see a reduction of 1.2 billion koruna. Almost 95 billion koruna will be allocated to servicing the national debt in 2024.

Minister of Finance Zbyněk Stanjura emphasized that the government is working toward consolidating public budgets. He stated, “The proposed budget fully reflects savings of nearly 100 billion koruna from the health package. Despite the increase in expenses for servicing the national debt, we have significantly reduced the deficit compared to this year.”

The proposal calls for a decrease in spending in most budget categories, with the most substantial cuts in the Ministry of Regional Development (reduced by 45.9%), the Ministry of Health (decreased by 26.5%), and the Ministry of Industry and Trade (reduced by 26.2%). The Ministry of Defense is set to receive a significant year-on-year increase in its proposed budget, with expenses expected to rise by 35.2%.

In 2023, the state plans to manage a deficit of 295 billion koruna, down from 360.4 billion koruna in the previous year.

The Ministry of Finance was legally required to submit the budget proposal by the end of August, and it became publicly accessible the following morning after initially being available in the non-public section of the legislative library.

Article by Prague Forum