Draft 2023 budget offers relief measures to counter rising prices

The government on Thursday has published its budget proposal for 2023, which includes a range of measures aimed at helping people cope with the impact of high prices on their lives, reported Xinhua.

According to a press release issued on Thursday, the government proposes public spending of 80.5 billion euros.

The proposed appropriation level for 2023 is 15.6 billion euros more than the budget for 2022.

As a result, next year's budget deficit is now set at 8.1 billion euros against the previous estimate of 6.3 billion euros.

According to the budget, national debt will rise to an estimated 146 billion euros by the end of 2023.

"The budget proposal for 2023 builds future sustainable growth, secures purchasing power and helps people cope with the sharp rise in electricity prices," the government said in the press release.

The so-called cost-of-living support, which attracts extensive attention from the public and media, includes lowering the value-added tax (VAT) on electricity and strengthening people's purchasing power.

The government said it would lower the VAT on electricity from 24 percent to 10 percent from December 2022 to April 2023.

A temporary electricity subsidy is also being prepared. In addition, the government is also working on rules to tax windfall profits in the energy sector.

The budget proposal contains measures to strengthen people's purchasing power with the reduction of early childhood education fees, an additional child allowance to be paid at the end of the year and temporary increases to several benefits.

Furthermore, compared with the past several years, the budget foresees a significant increase in defense spending.

The government plans to increase the defense budget by one billion euros, or 20 percent, from the current year's level of 5.1 billion euros.

The government is scheduled to discuss the draft budget proposal on Sept. 19. After that, the proposal will be submitted to Parliament, which usually needs about three months to review and approve the draft.