GOVERNMENT coalition partners DIKO said yesterday the party would not accept the 2011 state budget as it was submitted by the government.
“There is no way DIKO could approve an increase in expenditure without due deliberation, when what is needed at this point is to cut expenditure,” DIKO vice chairman Nicolas Papadopoulos said.
Papadopoulos said his party would like to hear from the finance minister his suggestions on how to reduce expenditure soon.
If the minister does not take any decisions by December, DIKO and other parties must assume the initiative to reduce spending, Papadopoulos said.
He added that his party does not agree that “we should simply raise taxes and ask Cypriot taxpayers to foot the bill for the black holes in public coffers”.
“We will decide in December when we vote on the budget. The only thing certain is that we will not approve the budget as is.”
DISY MP Maria Kyriacou said there are funds in the budgets that have to be reduced and reiterated her party’s proposal for budgets to take into account the next three years.
“So that we can assess the budgets before us, whether they can endure the next two to three years,” Kyriacou said.
The DISY MP said from the current budget it seems that if the economy continues at this rate the results would not be good.
“We want to maintain our economy’s stability and a decent living standard for Cypriot citizens.”
Total expenditure in 2011 is expected to increase by 1.1 per cent – the lowest percentage in the past 30 years, according to the government.
But measures still need to be put in place to meet the deficit limits set by the European Union.
Measures under discussion to raise revenues and plug a €150 million hole to keep the budget deficit for 2011 within the EU limits, include an increase in corporate tax only affecting Cypriot companies, some form of taxation on banks, a new tax-calculation system for large landowners and tax hikes on tobacco and alcohol.
The finance minister has said that talks were underway with the coalition parties in a bid to raise the cash needed to plug the hole and ensure that the deficit will not exceed 4.5 per cent.
The projected public deficit, without any measures to reduce it, will be 5.4 per cent, according to the budget.
