Finance Minister: 2021 state budget to include quarantine, testing and vaccine expenditures
The budget has been planned with a 4.3% economic growth forecast and the parameters of the budget were agreed upon with the International Monetary Fund. Photo: Ministry of Finance.
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The 2021 state budget of Georgia will include expenditures for quarantine, testing and Covid-19 vaccine and will be discussed at the parliament of Georgia by the end of this month, announces Georgian Finance Minister Ivane Matchavariani.
He added that the budget has been planned with a 4.3% economic growth forecast and the parameters of the budget were agreed upon with the International Monetary Fund.
Matchavariani said that it is important for the country that the opposition party enters the parliament and takes part in the discussion of the l budget.
The budget is one of the most important documents that parliament considers during the year. Its urgency today is as high as ever in this time of pandemic and crisis. If the budget is not approved by the parliament, the automatic model will be activated, which is not good", Matchavariani said.
He also announced that of the state programmes that support business and society the government will continue to cover utility fees for certain citizens based on energy consumption levels.
Matchavariani said that the decision to extend or not the other programmes will be announced soon.
The Georgian Business Association asked the government of Georgia to make changes to the Tax Code as soon as possible in order to extend tax breaks for businesses for another six months as those announced six months ago expired on November 1.
Businesses who paid salaries lower than 1,500 GEL per worker paid only a portion of the income tax, while businesses who paid monthly salaries of up to 750 GEL were fully exempt from personal income tax for six months. In addition, the hotel industry did not pay income tax.