Croatia's Parliament passed a budget reshuffle for 2018 in its session on Monday morning, and also approved government's 2019 budget as well as 2020 and 2021 projections. The biggest change in 2018 spending is an elevenfold increase in funds earmarked to pay for cancelled ship orders at the Uljanik group, now at 2.86 billion kuna (€386 million).

In the 151-seat assembly, the 2018 reshuffle received 78 votes in favour, 45 against, and 1 abstention. The reshuffle will see 2018 planned income increased by 144 million kuna (€19.4 million), to a total of 129.2 billion kuna (€17.4 billion).

The most significant changes concern state-issued guarantees for Uljanik group’s cancelled shipbuilding contracts, which are expected to be activated and cost at least 2.5 billion kuna (€337 million) by the end of the year.

The reshuffle also includes revised tax revenue figures, now at 2.1 billion kuna (€283.4 million), or 2.7 percent up from the original plan.

Revised projections include VAT revenues, now set at 51.1 billion kuna (€6.9 billion) or 3.1 percent up. Profit tax is expected to bring in 8.4 billion kuna (€1.1 billion), or 1.3 percent up from the original plan. Revenues from salary contributions are not projected at 24.9 billion kuna (€3.3 billion), or 2.6 percent up, and income collected from various administration fees are planned at 4.4 billion kuna (€600 million), or 18.2 percent up.

As for spending, the total is now set at 131.7 billion kuna (€17.8 billion) in 2018, or 1.6 billion (€216 million) down from the original budget. The biggest change are increased budget reserves for state guarantees, which ballooned more than tenfold from 265 million kuna (€35.7 million) to 2.86 billion kuna (€386 million), to secure funds to finance expected claims by Uljanik’s clients over cancelled ship orders.

2019 budget passed

The Parliament also voted on the 2019 budget, and government’s estimates for 2020 and 2021. In 2019, the total revenues are expected to total 136 billion kuna (€18.3 billion), with spending set at 140 billion kuna (€18.9 billion).

The biggest revenues are expected from VAT income, at 51.8 billion kuna (€7 billion), and all other taxes, at 15.7 billion kuna (€2.1 billion). Expenditures are projected at 140.3 billion kuna, or 6.9 billion (€9.3 billion) up from the original 2018 budget.

Two minor government-proposed amendments to the draft budget were passed, one which earmarked an additional 14.6 million (€2 million) kuna for local projects in underdeveloped areas of the country, bringing the total to 94.6 million kuna (€12.7 million). The other amendment passed concerned 4.1 million kuna (€550,000) for a polytechnics college in the northern town of Krapina.

MPs proposed a total of 217 amendments, with only three being accepted by the government, worth in total 25.5 million kuna (€3.4 million).

(€1 = 7.41 kuna)

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