Serbian government adopts 2024 budget bill

BELGRADE - The Serbian government adopted the 2024 budget bill on Thursday, the Ministry of Finance confirmed to Tanjug.

It said the bill was expected to be passed by the parliament by the end of this month.

The bill envisions a 3.5 pct GDP growth rate in 2024.

"The bill envisions further growth and development of the Republic of Serbia, with special emphasis on improvement of the living standards of Serbian citizens through further increases of pensions, public sector wages and the minimum wage. The proposed budget also continues the policy of easing the tax burden on earnings and enormous investments in capital projects, record spending for treatment of rare diseases and significant spending for agriculture," Mali wrote in an Instagram post earlier in the day.

The bill also envisions budget revenues and receipts totalling 2,040.9 bln dinars - 136.9 bln dinars or 7.2 pct more compared to the 2023 supplementary budget.

The fiscal deficit is envisioned to amount to 197 bln dinars, or 2.2 pct of GDP, which is lower than the 2.8 pct deficit projected under the 2023 supplementary budget bill.

The 2024 debt-to-GDP ratio is projected at 51.7 pct, much lower than the 60 pct ceiling under the Maastricht treaty.

(1 euro = 117.2 dinars)