Regional Budgets in 2019

Igor Yu. Arlashkin – Researcher of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (Moscow, Russia). E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Results for 2019 look rather positive: consolidated budgets of 50 regions boasted of surplus, public regional debt demonstrates a downturn trend, rates of budget revenues growth outstrip the inflation rate. However, revenues growth rates slowed down against 2018 and surplus in the regions as a whole contracted to near zero. Expenditures (14.2%) were growing at a significantly faster pace than the revenues (9.5%). Implementation of regional and federal projects at the subnational level requires sustainable growth of expenses and current rates of economic growth amid plummeting oil prices and coronavirus pandemic can fail to secure sufficient growth of budget revenues. In this context, already in 2020 certain regions can face fiscal imbalance.

Key words: consolidated budgets revenues, consolidated budgets expenditures, regional budgets, corporate profits tax, personal income tax, public debt, national projects, federal projects.