JAKARTA: Indonesia's parliament is set to vote on the 2015 budget on Monday with a deficit at 2.21 percent of gross domestic product, lower than the initial proposal at 2.32 percent, and also below this year's 2.4 percent.
The 2015 budget, which was agreed on by the parliament's budgetary committee and Finance Minister Chatib Basri on Sunday, will only fund president-elect Joko Widodo's basic government operation.
State revenue was earmarked at 1,793.6 trillion rupiah ($149.22 billion) and expenditure at 2,039.5 trillion rupiah.
To fund the 245.89 trillion rupiah gap, the budget body has authorised the debt management office to issue bonds worth 277.04 trillion rupiah, not including issuance of bonds for buy-back plans, refinancing other matured loans and short-term bonds for cash management.
About 17 percent of spending was still allocated for energy subsidies.
The new government plans to raise fuel prices in November, according to Widodo's senior adviser, potentially freeing almost half of the money spent on subsidizing fuel.
Widodo needs a large fiscal space to make good on his promise of improving infrastructure, as well as access to healthcare and education.
Due to be inaugurated on Oct. 20, he can propose budget revisions as early as next year.
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