Last year’s budget deficit lowest since 2008

The deficit of the Czech state budget last year reached 80.9 billion crowns, or just over 4 billion US dollars, Prime Minister Jiří Rusnok said on Thursday. The target deficit was projected at 100 billion. The decrease was owed to improved collection of VAT as well as EU funds, according to the outgoing prime minister. Last year’s budget deficit was the lowest since 2008; this year, the budget projects a gap of 112 billion crowns.