Lusine Vasilyan
Public Radio of Armenia
The Standing Committees of the National Assembly have started the consideration of state budget for fiscal year 2014. Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan was at the parliament today to present the main indices and peculiarities of the document.
The revenues will make 1 trillion 134 billion AMD, the expenditures will total 1 trillion and 244 billion AMD. The deficit will be close to 110 billion AMD. The Government projects a 5.2% economic growth for 2014. This cautious approach is connected with the slow pace of economic growth in 2013 caused by both foreign and domestic factors.
Among the foreign factors, the Prime Minister noted the low indices in partner countries, while the major domestic factor was the slow improvement of the business environment.
In 2013 the inflation rate was higher than expected (8.5%). The government predicts that inflation will remain close to 8% in the first half of 2014 and will reduce to 4.5% in the second half of the year.
According to the Prime Minister, the wages will rise in power structures from January 1st, 2014. The salaries of civil servants will be reviewed from July 1st. Pensions are also expected to rise from January 1st. As a result, 32,000 people will overcome the poverty level.
