Pension expenditures in the Czech Republic are the eighth lowest in the EU, in relation to gross domestic product. Whereas the EU28 states expended an average of 9.2% of GDP on pensions in 2017, it was only 6.9% in this country. In discussions about pension system change, opinions can be heard, based on this data,…
In 2019, the state’s finances ended up with a deficit of 28.5 billion crowns, said Finance Minister Alena Schillerová, at a press conference today. The approved budget planned on a deficit of 40 billion crowns. The better-than-expected result was due primarily to non-tax and capital revenues, which were above plan by more than 38 billion…
The Chamber of Deputies approved the draft 2020 state budget Wednesday night. A total of 108 were in favour of the Act, which plans on a deficit of 40 billion crowns, like the current year. Total income of the state budget is to amount to 1,578.1 billion crowns, with planned expenditure amounting to 1,618.1 billion. …
On Wednesday 4 December, the Czech Fiscal Council (CFC) issued its regular quarterly opinion on the development of public sector finances and the set-up of fiscal and budgetary policy. Among other things, it points to problematic aspects in the approval of the 2020 government budget, as the budget bill counts on certain income, the attainment…
The Czech Fiscal Council, along with the European Commission’s Representation in the Czech Republic, organised a professional conference on the role of independent fiscal councils in EU countries, which was held on Monday 18 November. The words of introduction by the Czech Fiscal Council Chairman, Eva Zamrazilová, and deputy head of the Representation of the…
On Wednesday 13 November, a meeting of the Committee on Budgetary Forecasts met at the Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic. At this meeting, committee members, who are leading Czech economists, discussed the November fiscal forecast issued by the Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic and rated it as realistic, in terms of…
The Czech Republic last year complied with the expenditure and debt rules of budgetary responsibility laid down by Act No. 23/2017 Sb., on the rules of budgetary responsibility (hereinafter referred to as the “Act”). This is the conclusion of the Report on Compliance with the Rules of Budgetary Responsibility for the Year 2018, published on…
On 29 October 2019, the Austrian Fiscal Advisory Council (known as the “Fiskalrat”) organised a workshop on fiscal multipliers and government transfers. Put in simplified terms, the issue was how to most precisely measure the impact of fiscal policy (e.g., changes in public institution sector expenditure or tax changes) on gross domestic product. The meeting,…
On Wednesday 16 October, the Chamber of Deputies decided that the Czech Fiscal Council member Jan Pavel will continue in his position through to 2026. 144 of the 174 lawmakers present voted in favour of his appointment, which had been proposed by the Czech National Bank. In his educational and professional work, Professor Jan Pavel…
Future pension reform could include the division of the existing first (pay-as-you-go) pillar of the pension system, into two branches – solidary and merit-based branches. The Fair Pensions Committee agreed unilaterally at its meeting on Friday 11 October that it will work further on the concept and discuss all the related changes in parameters at…
Experts in the forecasting of budgetary income and expenditures met on 19 September in Brussels at a conference organised by the European Commission. Representing the Czech Republic at this event, entitled DG ECFIN Country Desk Workshop on Fiscal Forecasting, were two analysts of the Czech Fiscal Council Office, Pavel Morda and Ondřej Šíma. They learned,…
On Wednesday 4 September, the Czech Fiscal Council issued its regular quarterly statement with respect to the development of public sector finances and the set-up of fiscal and budgetary policy. Among other things, it states that, in Q2 of this year, the Czech economy noted a year-on-year increase by 2.7%, which is, in principle, in…
