Tyumen Oblast Signals Good Budgetary Health

21.05.2009 — News

THE TYUMEN OBLAST.

In the autumn 2009 the Tyumen Oblast authorities, given the current tax revenue trends, may increase the regional budget spending. In the first quarter tax revenues collected in the Oblast reached 37% of the annual target of 20.63 billion roubles.

In February the regional budget was dramatically sequestered. The revenue side was halved, down to 55.7 billion roubles. Spending was sequestered by a third, down to 87.98 billion roubles. The budget was based on the yearly average oil price of 40 dollars per barrel. Prudent policies of the regional government allowed limiting the first quarter actual budget spending to 13.74 billion roubles.

With oil prices climbing to 55-60 dollars, the Oblast authorities grew more optimistic. The regional Government informed RusBusinessNews that the extraction (primarily oil) tax collected in January-March 2009 amounted to 5.15 billion roubles, or 26.8% of the annual target. The year-on-year decrease amounted to 7.14 billion roubles.

Vladimir Yakushev, the Governor of the Tyumen Oblast, said that the region is not under threat of a budget crisis. Local businesses are building up their customer portfolios. Industrial production index is 90.1% as compared against January-April of the previous year. Oil companies are resuming their investment programmes, which will generate new orders for the Tyumen machine-builders.

The Tyumen Oblast performance is a positive sign for the Russian economy. The financial situation in the country's oil and gas regions has always been a benchmark for the Federal budget, heavily hydrocarbon-dependent.