The Algerian Parliament approved the General Budget Law for 2021, with an unprecedented deficit of about $22 billion.
The government expected the budget revenues to stabilize at 5328 billion dinars (42 billion dollars), with public spending reaching 8112 billion dinars (64 billion dollars), which raises the budget deficit from 20 billion dollars this year to 22 billion dollars next year, in a precedent in the history of Algerian budgets.
The budget revealed that government spending has risen to significant levels, exceeding government expectations, as wages of public sector workers will cost $27 billion, out of $42 billion allocated for the management budget, while the wage block reached $26 billion this year out of $38 billion for the total running budget.
Algeria's budget for 2021 did not carry new direct taxes that could burden the exhausted Algerians with the cost of living and a decline in purchasing power, with the exception of the tax on household waste collection.
In order to support the public treasury, the government decided to raise the fees applicable to obtaining an Algerian visa and passing the driving test. In order to alleviate the pressure on the subsidy budget, the government has lifted subsidies on the targeted sugar used in the production of soft drinks, juices and materials for export. While the annual fee applied to cars and moving mechanisms related to environmental protection was canceled, after the insurance companies in charge of collecting this tax in insurance contracts were affected, less than a year after its approval.
Source (Al-Araby Al-Jadeed Newspaper, Edited)
