BOSNIAN STATE BUDGET TO INCREASE BY 12%

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (November 7,2008) - The Bosnian State Fiscal Council adopted yesterday a budget framework for the following year, providing for a 12-per-cent increase in the Bosnian state budget=.

Bosnia's Prime Minister Nikola Spiric explained the state budget would increase by 100 million Bosnian Marks, and that the government was guided by its commitment to conduct a more restrictive fiscal policy in 2009, in the light of indirect impact of the global crisis expected on the Bosnian economy.

The Bosnian government expects smaller VAT revenue and smaller GDP growth rate next year, and plans to reduce public spending, Spiric said.

However, the Bosnian Finance Minister Dragan Vrankic warned that the adopted budget framework is not sufficient to meet even the basic needs of government institutions.
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