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Polish president signs 2023 budget into law

03.02.2023 12:30
Polish President Andrzej Duda has signed into law the country’s budget for 2023, which expects the economy to grow 1.7 percent, with inflation targeted at 9.8 percent, his aides said on Friday.
Polish President Andrzej Duda.
Polish President Andrzej Duda.Photo: Grzegorz Jakubowski/KPRP

The president’s signature came after Polish lawmakers definitivelapproved the financial plan in a final vote last month.

The budget deficit is expected to be no more than PLN 68 billion (EUR 14.5 billion, USD 15.9 billion) this year, and the target for the general government deficit is 4.5 percent of GDP, under the plan greenlighted by the head of state.

Government revenue is expected to total PLN 604.5 billion in 2023, with spending set at PLN 672.5 billion, Polish state news agency PAP reported.

The budget ensures full financing for the government’s key social assistance projects, including its flagship "500-plus" child benefit programme and subsidised school supplies for children nationwide, officials have said.

Meanwhile, health spending is expected to exceed 6 percent of GDP, and defence spending is expected to stand at 3 percent of GDP this year.

Including expenditure from the extra-budgetary Armed Forces Support Fund, which is financed by government-secured bonds, Poland plans to spend 4 percent of its GDP on defence in 2023, according to officials.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has described the government's financial plan as “an ambitious budget for difficult times.”

(gs)

Source: PAP, IAR