Polish Parliament Amends '09 Budget, Widens Deficit

WARSAW --The Polish Parliament late Friday day approved the government's amendment to the 2009 budget, widening the budget deficit by a half to cope with falling budget revenue because of the slowing economy.

The amendment cuts the budget revenue for the whole of 2009 by 30.1 billion zlotys ($9.81 billion) to PLN272.9 billion, and widens the deficit to PLN27.2 billion from PLN18.2 billion. The amendment allows for more than PLN21 billion in spending cuts to balance falling revenues, mostly from lower value-added tax receipts.

In late June, the ministry reduced its main macroeconomic assumptions for this year's budget, cutting projected gross domestic product, or GDP, growth to 0.2%, from a previous forecast of 3.7% growth.