President Ilham Aliyev ratifies 2014 state budget

By AzerNews

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev approved the state budget for 2014 on December 19.

Revenues and expenses for the next year are projected to be 18.384 billion manats and 20.063 billion mantas, respectively.

In 2014, the revenues are expected to be 775 million manats lower than the figures in 2013, and exceed the actual figures of 2012 by 1.103 billion manats.

The budget deficit is seen to hit 1.679 billion manats, compared to 691 million manats for 2013 and the actual figure of 135 million manats for 2012.

Revenues of the consolidated budget for 2014 are estimated at 21.986 billion manats which exceeds the forecasted figure for this year by 1.257 billion manats, and the actual 2012 budget performance by 352.5 million manats.

Expenditures are forecasted to amount to 24.444 billion manats, which is 56 million manats lower than the predicted figure for this year and 5.982 billion manats higher than the actual 2012 budget performance.

The consolidated budget deficit is projected to be 2.458 billion manats, making up 4.2 percent of the projected GDP.

The growth of local revenues in the draft budget for 2014 is projected to be 11.9 percent -779 million manats. Compared to the actual figure for 2012, the growth of local revenues in 2014 is 46 percent.

Also, President Aliyev signed the laws on limits of neediness criteria and subsistence minimum as well as decrees on implementation of these laws.

The neediness criteria in Azerbaijan were determined at the level of 100 manats.

The subsistence minimum in the country will amount to 125 manats, for employable population-136 manats, for holders of pension-103 manats, and for children-103 manats in 2014.

The Azerbaijani president also approved the budget of Azerbaijan's state oil fund SOFAZ for 2014.

According to the budget, SOFAZ's incomes were determined at the level of over 11.626 billion manats and expenditures-over 11.349 billion manats.

Also, the projected total cost (the average amount) of the investment portfolio of SOFAZ for 2014 was set at 27 billion manats, the presidential decree approving the priorities of the program for using SOFAZ's funds for 2014 said.

For this year the forecast was 25.2 billion manats, versus 23 billion manats in 2012, and 19.4 billion manats in 2011.

"SOFAZ will implement an investment policy allowing maximal yield at low risk of capital loss in 2014," the document says.

SOFAZ will spend the funds in 2014 to finance the certain measures relating to the accommodation and improvement of the social conditions of refugees and internally displaced persons' living; transfers to the state budget in 2014; to finance the reconstruction project of the Samur-Absheron irrigation system; to finance the construction project of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line; to finance the State Program on Education of Azerbaijani youth in foreign countries in 2007-2015; to finance the broadband internet development project, which will provide access to all the residential areas in Azerbaijan; to finance Azerbaijan's share in the construction project of the oil, gas and petrochemical complex; to finance Azerbaijan's share in the Star refinery construction project in Turkey; to finance Azerbaijan's share in the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline project (TANAP).