The government managed to keep the budget deficit within thebounds agreed with the IMF, at 7.2% of the Gross Domestic Product,but that was only because of temporary cost-cutting measures takenin the fourth quarter of last year. The adjustment of the publicsystem has been postponed for 2010.
The state spent 193 billion RON (45.5 billion euros) lastyear, an increase of 1.4% in RON compared with 2008, but this moneyfailed to give a boost to the economy, given that it was primarilyused to pay wages and pensions rather than investments.
On the other hand, budget revenues fell by 5.4% to 156.6billion RON (36.8 billion euros), with the most serious declinewitnessed by VAT collection, as a result of the consumer spendingslump. The state collected merely 34.3 billion RON from VAT, whichremains the main stream of revenue for the budget, 16% less than in2008.
Personnel spending ended 2009 with a 2.4% increase to 46.7billion RON, as a result of the significant wage and pension raisesgranted in the autumn of 2008. On the other hand, capitalexpenditures (investments i.e.) stood at merely 23.2 billion RON(5.4 billion euros), 13% lower in RON compared with 2008.
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