January budget revenue (general fund and special fund) grew 6.8% yoy, according to a State Treasury provisional report on Feb 5. General fund revenue was up 10.8% yoy, (as reported recently by Viktor Pynzenyk, refer to our news on Feb. 4). The Treasury also reported a 25.6% yoy increase in exporters’ VAT refunds over the month.
Alexander Paraschiy: Poor special fund revenue (-12.9% yoy) makes the state budget picture for January less attractive than Pynzenyk recently described. The situation looks even more worrying if we consider that advanced enterprise profit tax payments embellished the month’s general fund collections. Against this backdrop, a targeted 5% revenue growth for the year might be a challenging task for authorities. Still, at least for the next few months, we do not expect any revenue slump due to the routine practice of the NBU to support the state budget with direct cash injections.