PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE DISCUSSES EXECUTION OF STATE BUDGET

ZAGREB, June 18 (Hina) - The parliament Committee for Finances and the State Budget discussed a report on the execution of the Sate Budget for 2001 on Tuesday. Members of the committee pointed to an increase of the public debt and an inefficient collection of excise taxes, because of the smuggling. #L# Presenting the report, assistant Finance Minister Velimir Rajkovic amongst other things said that in the first five months of this year, less revenue was realised from privatisation than intended. In that period, he said, there was a slump in revenue from excise taxes on tobacco. He expressed belief that this year the trend of the fall in the budget deficit would continue and the deficit should amount to 4.25 percent of the Gross Domestic Product. The total revenue in the first six months of this year, Rajkovic said, indicated a slump of 12.10 million euros, mostly owing to profit taxes and customs revenue. He said that this year it was expected that the growth rate would be higher than the planned 3.5 percent, considering the increased activities in the construction industry and tourism. MP Ivan Suker of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) said that extra-budgetary funds were still recording a negative figure of 2.04 billion euros. Suker was interested in how it was possible that revenue from excise taxes on cigarettes, alcohol and petrol did not increase - not even during the tourist season. He warned that the state budget was losing about 102 million euros per year because of the cigarette smuggling. "Why is it that when tourists come to Croatia it seems as if they stop drinking, smoking and using gas," Suker asked hinting that if that was the case, Croatia should be included in international associations for healthy tourism. (hina) sp sb