According to Finance Ministry, the budget revenues next year should be 3.103 trillion rubles (17.2% of GDP), and budget expenditures should be 2.916 trillion rubles (16.1% of GDP).
Therefore, the budget surplus in 2005 was estimated at 187 billion rubles, or 1% of GDP ($1 is approximately 29 rubles).
The GDP, in absolute terms, was estimated at 18.08 trillion rubles.
The figures in the draft budget were calculated based on a $26 per barrel average annual price of oil and the ruble's exchange rate to the dollar being 30.2 rubles.
According to the Finance Ministry's calculations, the stabilization fund should be 417 billion rubles by the beginning of 2005 and 267.7 billion rubles should be added to it in 2005.
The government intends to use 91.6 billion rubles from the stabilization fund to cover any budget shortfalls that may emerge as result of higher, than this year, foreign debt repayments. Another 80.9 billion rubles will be spent on the Pension Fund deficit, which was caused by the reduction of the single social tax.
Therefore, by the end of 2005 and with all of these payments taken into consideration, the stabilization fund should amount to 512.2 billion rubles.
Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, summarizing the budget discussion, noted the importance of preserving the macroeconomic parameters underlying the parameters of the country's budget, as a change would involve substantial risks. "No uncertainty should be created," he said. "They should be approved as the basis."
The prime minister also noted that the materials submitted by the Finance Ministry lacked clear ideas about taking into consideration the concerns and problems that exist in the country's regions. He proposed that members of government and regional leaders meet in his office to resolve the remaining issues.
"Bottlenecks need to be widened so that the economy can grow like yeast," he said. Mr. Fradkov also said that in this context it was important not to err on the side of spending budget resources.
At the meeting Russia's Minister of Finance, Alexei Kudrin, said "the State Duma should receive the draft budget approximately on August 26."
Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov also spoke at the meeting and focused on the stabilization fund. He said that he thought that using the fund to cut taxes and repay foreign debt was warranted.
"I disagree with those who say that we waste the stabilization fund which, I note, will exceed 500 billion rubles in 2005," he said. "We can spend the stabilization fund on covering tax cuts and reducing foreign debts. It is the most effective use of the funds."
In Mr. Zhukov's opinion, "2005 must be a year of effective use of the budget funds. Next year all the ministries and all the distributors of the budget resources must reconsider their approaches to the way the budget money is used."
