Azerbaijan's state budget surplus for 2011 comes to 0.6% of GDP
BAKU. May 18 (Interfax) - Azerbaijan's state budget surplus for 2011 came to 303.18 million manat (0.7858 manat/$1 on May 18, 2012), or 0.6% of GDP, the government said in a report on state budget performance.
Deputy Minister of Finance Azer Bairamov said on Friday, while in discussion with the parliamentary committee for economic policy about the state budget's implementation, that budget revenue in 2011 came to 15.7 billion manat, up 37.7% from 2010. Expenditures reached 15.4 billion manat, up 30.9%.
Bairamov said that revenue from the Tax Ministry came to 5.472 million manat, State Customs Committee - 1.142 billion manat, and transfers from the State Oil Fund - 9 billion manat.
Current spending accounted for 7.115 billion rubles of expenditures in the state budget while 7.938 billion manat went to capital expenses. The remainder went to servicing state debt.
Bairamov added that total socially directed expenditures in the state budget came to 4.34 billion manat, or 28% of total budget expenditures. At the same time, total social spending in the budget increased by 17.2% in 2011.
He added that the Azerbaijani government ensured the financing of all state programs and implemented efforts for raising pensions and salaries for certain categories of state employees. The government also financed the development of the country's agricultural sector and allocated funds for concessional lending to entrepreneurs through facilities from the National Fund to Support Entrepreneurship.
Following discussions on the budget, the parliamentary committee for economic policy decided to recommend the report for parliamentary approval. Parliamentary review of the budget's performance report should stake place on May 29.