THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Cabinet approves Bt3.2 trillion in expenditure for fiscal 2020

Cabinet approves Bt3.2 trillion in expenditure for fiscal 2020

The Cabinet has given the greenlight to an expenditure of Bt3.2 trillion for fiscal 2020, setting the deficit at Bt469 billion and readying Bt1 billion for economic stimuli in the second half.

Dechapiwat Na Songkhla, director of the Budget Bureau, said the Cabinet has approved expenditures for the next fiscal year at Bt3.2 trillion, with Bt2.731 trillion calculated in revenue and Bt469 billion in deficit, which is 4.2 per cent higher than the previous year. Public debt stands at 42 per cent of GDP, while foreign debt is at 3 per cent.
“Government agencies can start submitting their requests to the Budget Bureau from August 9 onwards,” he said. “The requests will then be passed on to the House of Representatives, which will meet from October 17 onwards. It is estimated that the budget disbursement will start in late January or early February.” 
The Fiscal 2020 Act estimates that the Thai economy will grow by 3 to 4 per cent in 2020, and that in the last quarter of this year, there will be approximately Bt1 billion available for contract-bound projects, and can be injected into the economy to help maintain a steady growth towards the end of the year. 
Narumon Phinyosinwat, from the PM’s Office, said the key components of the fiscal 2020 budget are: current spending is Bt2.39 trillion or 74.7 per cent of the total budget; debt payment stands at Bt62.7095 billion or 2 per cent; and capital spending is Bt650 billion, representing 20.5 per cent.
“Although fiscal 2020 has Bt19 billion in deficit compared to last year, the government still has other sources of income to repay the debts and keep the economy afloat, such as infrastructure mutual fund and public-private partnerships projects. Hence, the prime minister has been able to confirm that there is nothing to worry about regarding the fiscal year,” Narumon said.

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