PM Orban: Budgetary deficit is, in reality, much higher than 2.8 pct at 10 months

Prime Minister Ludovic Orban stated on Friday that the budgetary deficit at ten months is, "in reality", much higher than 2.8 pct of the GDP. "We are at a minimum of investments for ten years now, we have reached a historical minimum of public investments in the past ten years. The budgetary deficit is a very high deficit, of 2.8 pct at ten months, but in reality this budgetary deficit is masked because the budgetary deficit is much higher. (...) It was maintained below 3 pct on the back of the business environment. A trick used is to delay VAT reimbursements to companies. At the moment, it's hard for me to calculate what the average delay is, but it's very big, it's probably over 90 days of delay for VAT reimbursements. The sums that should have been paid to companies from VAT reimbursements sits around at least 5 billion, meaning the Government maintained the deficit using the money of companies that should have returned to the companies. (...) Another trick - not paying for works, both at the Ministry of Transport, as well as at the Ministry of Public Works there are situations of works completed that should have been paid over 5 billion, meaning private companies did works and they're waiting for months for the work done to be paid, and in this period, instead of receiving money for work done, probably to maintain their work rhythm, they have to take out loans so they can maintain cash flow. These are the attitudes of the former government and the means through which they attempted to mask an extremely painful truth," said Orban, at the National Ranking of Private Companies in Romania event. He gave guarantees that the Government will support the business environment. "Our government is a pro business Government, it's a Government that will support individual initiative, which will support investors and will take care so the business environment is a flourishing environment and that any person who wants to get on his feet or wants to develop its own business have a true partner in the Romanian state's institutions," the Prime Minister said. The event was also attended by President Klaus Iohannis.AGERPRES(RO - author: Florentina Peia, editor: Georgiana Tanasescu; EN - author: Razvan-Adrian Pandea, editor: Maria Voican)