2013 regional budgets

All regional budgets for 2013 are drafted without deficit. At the same time, regions are increasingly divided into donor and subsidized regions. Some regions plan to reduce their regional budget incomes in 2013 by 50%.

Minsk and Vitebsk regions remain the main donor in the country. Mogilev region becomes the No 1 subsidized region. This is the only region in the country, where subsidies from the center exceed own revenues. The share the Mogilev region revenues in the national budget is only 6%.

In general, regional budgets are socially oriented. About 50% of the budget is allocated for the social needs – housing, utility bills payments, healthcare and education. At the same time, without the healthcare and housing/utilities reforms the real needs in subsidies in these spheres are much higher than the amounts allocated in the regional budgets.

In 2013, the ways innovation funds are formed have been changed. Since January 1^st, 2013 all business entities will be taking part in the formation of innovation funds (except those that fall under the simplified taxation). 10% of the income tax will be channeled to the innovation funds.

As an example of how regional budgets are formed, let’s look at Gomel regional and Gomel city budgets. Zheleznodorozhny district of Gomel alone provides 23% of revenues to the regional consolidated budget, Gomel city budget is only 19.3% percent of the regional budget expenditure, and taking into account all resources to be administered by region – only 13.7%. Resources earned in regions are concentrated in the ‘upper levels’ in accordance with the super-centralized Belarusian state system and ‘disbursed to lower levels’ depending on nature of planned expenditure by Minsk or other relevant regional institutions. Local MPs and in particular, local towns and villages residents have influence on funds distribution.