Oreshkin allowed a budget surplus in 2024

At the end of 2023, the budget deficit will not exceed the forecast 2%, and already in 2024 a budget surplus is possible. This was stated by Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation Maxim Oreshkin on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum (WEF), transmits Interfax.

“The situation with budget revenues is developing at the upper limit of expectations. At the end of the year, the budget will have a deficit of 2% of GDP or less, which is better than the parameters set for this year. The most positive dynamics are demonstrated by the dynamics of non-oil and gas revenues,” he said.

Oreshkin noted that the government has done “very serious work on balancing the budget for the next three years.” According to him, the budget balance indicators will be better than expected. In addition, under certain scenarios, a budget surplus is possible, he added.

On September 8, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin at a meeting on the draft federal budget statedthat the federal budget deficit for January–August was below 1.5% of GDP for the year. At the end of August, it was executed with a surplus of 230 billion rubles. According to Mishustin, an increase in non-oil and gas revenues, which exceeded 1.82 trillion rubles, played a significant role. (+56.5% year on year). At the same time, oil and gas revenues have recovered, the prime minister noted.

Russian President Vladimir Putin previously said that the growth rate of the Russian economy this year has accelerated from month to month, so we can assume that in 2023 growth will completely cover last year’s decline. Back in December 2022, Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov expected GDP decline in 2023 within 1%, but already in April 2023 Ministry of Economic Development predicted economic growth by 1.2%. In July Mishustin statedthat the country’s GDP could grow by more than 2% if “there are no force majeure circumstances.”