Finance Minister outlines January budget achievements

About 540 million GEL in taxes was expected to be collected in January however the actual tax revenue reached 570.5 million GEL, according to the Budget Performance Report submitted by Georgia’s Finance Minister to the Prime Minister.

This total tax revenue figure accounted for 7.1 per cent of the annual budget plan.

Georgia’s Finance Minister Nodar Khaduri explained that the income from taxes exceeded the predicted figure by 31 million GEL and was 44 million GEL higher when compared to the same figure last year.

In total budget revenues for January 2015 exceeded 725 million GEL – 115 million GEL above the figure for January 2014, which accounted to 33 percent of the first quarter budget plan and 7.3 percent of the annual budget plan.

The amount of expenditure totalled 656 million GEL, making up seven percent of the annual budget plan. Only six percent of the annual budget plan was spent in January of the previous year, Khaduri stated.

When asked by the Prime Minister about the Infrastructure Ministry's budget, Khaduri said the Finance Ministry had made advances in this area and had already utilized four percent of the annual budget plan and 31 percent of the first quarter budget plan.

Current expenditures accounted for eight percent and the Finance Ministry's prognosis for capital expenditures was also optimistic.

When speaking about the exchange rate of the Georgian Lari, Finance Minister Khaduri noted that trade flows over the past three days had been practically stable and there were high hopes that the national currency may "settle down”.

Market mechanisms were sufficient to create stable exchange rates, and given the fact the Lari tended to strengthen, the National Bank did not find it necessary to interfere.

Minister Khaduri estimated the economic growth rate for 2015 at above four percent while all other countries in Georgia's neighbourhood faced economic stagnation.

Currently $1 US Dollar cost more than 2 GEL. The National Bank of Georgia has set a new exchange rate according to which the GEL has depreciated.

From today, February 6, the new exchange rate will be 2.0100 GEL for every $1 USD.

Today the GEL exchange rate against the US Dollar was 1.9977.