Russian Budget Deficit Reaches Expected Figures

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov revealed on state television today that the budget deficit for 2023 is expected to reach approximately 2.9 trillion rubles (31.6 billion dollars) or about 1.5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Siluanov added that both spending and revenues exceeded expectations, but the balance between them remained as anticipated. He continued that the budget deficit was expected to be two percent of GDP, but it is currently lower due to the Russian economy growing faster than estimates. Additional revenues came from items such as an extraordinary tax on large companies, which alone generated 315 billion rubles (3.44 billion dollars) for the budget.