Low Deficit in State Budget 2006
Wednesday, 03 January, 2007 | 16:46 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The realization of the State Budget 2006 was quite satisfactory.

According to Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, this was reflected through the deficit realization of the Revised State Budget 2006 at one percent of GDP.

“This was lower than initially targeted in the Revised State Budget 2006, at 1.3 percent of GDP,” she said yesterday (01/02) in Jakarta.

During 2006, state revenues reached Rp637.8 trillion, while, state expenditures amounted to Rp669.9 trillion.

Consequently, the deficit was only Rp32.1 trillion (1 percent of GDP) and was Rp7.9 trillion lower than the targeted Rp40 trillion (1.3 percent of GDP).

As for GDP, she said, of the targeted Rp3,119 trillion in the Revised State Budget, the government has estimated that realization will be far higher at Rp3,778.6 trillion.

“It was an estimation based on inflation rate and growth expectations of 2006,” she said.

The GDP achievements will be announced by the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) in February 2007.

The decrease in the amount of the deficit, according to the Finance Minister, was considered as quite a boost to economic growth as well as continuing fiscal consolidation.

The decrease also reflected austerity in utilizing funds from the government's accounts and reducing dependency on foreign loans.

AGUS SUPRIYANTO