Keep The Deficit Below 3 Percent Of GDP, The State Budget Focuss On Protecting The Community And Recovering The Economy

Screenshot of Deputy Minister of Finance Suahasil Nazara. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Deputy Minister of Finance (Wamenkeu) Suahasil Nazara said that the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN) continues to be focused on protecting the public from the potential of a pandemic and encouraging economic recovery.

State spending, he continued, is also streamlined so that the state budget deficit can return below 3 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2023.

"We hope that with spending efficiency we can carry out fiscal consolidation. However, this must continue to protect the economy through health spending and continue to encourage economic recovery," said Deputy Minister of Finance Suahasil Nazara at the State Financial Symposium quoted by Antara, Wednesday, October 26.

As for the economy that has begun to recover after being affected by COVID-19, state revenues, according to him, have also begun to increase as seen from the realization of state revenues in September 2022 which grew 45.7 percent compared to the same period the previous year.

He believes that this increase in revenue will be able to bring the APBN deficit back to below 3 percent.

At the same time, he said, government spending will continue to grow healthy or reach 5.9 percent on an annual basis in September 2022 which will be used to ensure public health and economic recovery is maintained.

Deputy Minister of Finance Suahasil said the government would also maintain economic growth through strengthening coordination between fiscal and monetary policy makers which are accommodated in the Financial System Stability Committee (KSSK).

Coordination is also needed in the midst of global economic conditions which are expected to experience a recession in 2023.

"We reduce prices by reducing liquidity through an increase in the benchmark interest rate which must be matched with fiscal and APBN policies which we normalize towards a deficit of below 3 percent," said Deputy Minister of Finance Suahasil.