MPP: Budget deficit can be shrunk to 1.4 trillion MNT

The Mongolian People’s Party (MPP) caucus in Parliament discussed the fiscal bills on October 31.

Chairman of the Standing Committee on Budget G.Temuulen informed that based on consultation with professional organizations, the MPP caucus has proposed two provisions in the draft 2023 Budget Law to improve fiscal accountability and discipline. If these provisions are adopted, new programs and projects can be codified, he said.

The legislator stressed that loans and their interest subsidies burden the state budget, before saying, “We need to improve discipline and responsibility in our foreign loans and grants. The working group has developed new bills on fiscal discipline, public participation, control and policy on foreign loans and assistance. We plan to submit them to Parliament next week. This will create a clear legal framework for policies related to foreign loans and grants.”

Investment and development projects with state budget investment will be inspected. If there is an increase in the budget cost of a project, the relevant organization will conduct an inspection. The caucus agreed to legislate the issue of conducting budget control hearings and openly providing information to the public, G.Temuulen reported.

In the draft law, the budget deficit is projected to be 1.5 trillion MNT next year. The MPP caucus believes that next year’s budget balance can rise by 127.7 billion MNT but with the deficit shrinking to 1.4 trillion MNT.

The caucus expressed that it will support the policy of not making new investments, improving fiscal discipline and responsibility and minimizing deficits.