The Government of the Irkutsk Region considered the 2016 budget draft, prepared in difficult economic conditions and with requirements to reduce the deficit and public debt. Priority remains fulfilling all social obligations, including public sector wages, and funding key projects.

On November 12, at a meeting of the Government of the Irkutsk Region, the draft law “On the Regional Budget for 2016” was considered. The budget was being prepared under completely different conditions, and the circumstances of budget execution in 2015 were difficult, so the head of the region, ministers, and deputies were preparing for difficult work.
As reported by the Minister of Finance of the Irkutsk Region, Natalia Boyarinova, the draft one-year budget was drawn up on the basis of the revised forecast of social and economic development and in accordance with the federal government’s requirements to reduce the budget deficit. The federal Ministry of Finance set the following conditions: the region’s budget deficit may not exceed 10%, and the state debt must be reduced. Only if these conditions are met will the region receive state loans. Natalia Boyarinova said that at present the Ministry of Finance cannot forecast the level of prices for oil and other resources, so tax revenues cannot be calculated precisely. The global crisis directly affects employment in the Irkutsk Region, so there is reason to believe that personal income tax revenues will also decline.
— When preparing the budget, we proceeded from a conservative scenario of events, setting ourselves one condition — the mandatory fulfillment of all social obligations, payment of salaries to public-sector employees, — said Natalia Boyarinova. — The region’s own budget revenues will amount to 101.8 billion rubles, expenditures to 108.9 billion. The deficit will amount to 7.4 billion rubles, or 8.5%, that is, a slight decrease compared with the 2015 deficit level. We expect financial support from the federal budget to increase, but it should be taken into account that most of such assistance is distributed at the beginning of the new fiscal year.
The Minister of Finance listed especially significant projects and programs that will require substantial expenditures from the regional budget and that cannot be abandoned, including the construction of housing for orphans, the construction of feldsher-midwife stations, and district hospitals.
Members of the government voted to approve the draft law in the proposed form and to submit it to the budget committee of the Legislative Assembly for consideration.