OREANDA-NEWS. On September 25, 2008, when presenting the state budget to the Riigikogu, Prime Minister Andrus Ansip said that the indisputable priority for next year will be education; pensioners and young families can also feel at ease and secure, as the increase in pensions and the payment of the parental benefit will continue. The obligations taken by Estonia to increase defence expenditures will also be fulfilled, reported the Official website www.valitsus.ee.

According to Prime Minister Andrus Ansip, the growth of investments into education is one of the fastest in the budget for 2009. “Our wealth does not lie in great masses or beneath the ground, our wealth lies in our brains,” said Ansip, according to whom there must be close cooperation between state authorities, scientific institutions and entrepreneurs.

Young families can also be at ease, as the payment of the parental benefit will continue as before. “Every new citizen of the world is very much awaited in our country,” said the head of the government, when speaking to the members of the Riigikogu. Pensioners can also remain at ease. This year, the state will pay more for pensions than is received from the social tax. “It involves a large amount of additional funds for which painful cuts had to be made, but still I do not doubt the correctness of this choice,” said Ansip.

Next year, Estonia will spend 1.9 per cent of GDP on national defence, which, according to the Prime Minister, is a significant message both domestically and outside Estonia. “The increase in the defensive capacity of the Estonian state and cooperation with NATO Allies is one of the priorities of this government,” said Ansip, and added that the security of the country is, of course, a whole and it means a greater contribution to domestic security as well.

“The government managed to keep the budget in balance without using the reserves and increasing taxes,” said Prime Minister Andrus Ansip. According to him, the freezing of the wages of higher public officials, a decrease in operating expenses and the number of state officials are some of the first examples of the cutting of expenses, which the government wishes to implement next year.

“The most painful decision of the budget negotiations was definitely the stopping of the income tax reform for one year,” said Prime Minister Ansip. According to the head of government, in Estonia, the labour force is still extremely highly taxed, which curbs our competitiveness and decreases the motivation of working people to try harder. “I do not doubt for a second that we must decisively work towards lowering the income tax from 26 per cent down to 18 per cent,” said Ansip.

This morning, the government approved the draft budget in the total volume of EEK 98.7 billion for next year. In drafting the draft budget, the budget position of a balanced government sector was proceeded from.