Filipche: Budget rebalance due to poor management, not fuel tax cuts
SDSM leader says fuel tax cuts cannot explain a reported €130 million shortfall and accuses the government of a €1 billion gap.
Venko Filipche, leader of the opposition SDSM, blamed the announced budget rebalance on poor economic management rather than the government’s cuts to VAT and excise on fuels. Filipche made the remarks at a press conference after Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said the rebalance process is expected to be completed during October.
Filipche challenged the government’s explanation that lower fuel taxes explain the shortfall and called for clarity on the numbers. "If the shortfall is around 130 million euros, the truth and the facts regarding VAT and the excise on fuels must be known. Total inflow from VAT and excise on fuels in 2025, when there was no crisis, was about 500 million euros, that is around 470 to 500 million euros. So it would take three months of not charging VAT and excise for about 130 million euros to be missing, as the prime minister says. Which means – that is not true," he said.
Fuel prices and budget arithmetic
The opposition leader pointed out that, despite reductions in VAT and excise, the retail price of fuels rose by more than 50 percent over the recent period. For that reason, Filipche argued, revenues from VAT and excise on fuels should not have fallen — they should have remained at least at previous levels.
Filipche went further, arguing that the true cause of the upcoming rebalance is mismanagement of public finances. "A billion euros are missing from the Budget. The crisis is not to blame for that. It has its contribution, however not to the extent that a new rebalance is needed. Poor management of the economy and finances leads to a billion euros missing in the Budget. Where will they come from? New borrowing. There is no other source of money for this criminal government, which will again use them for their party's criminal tenders," he said.
Filipche presented his remarks as a rebuttal to the prime minister's account of the deficit. He insisted that the government must present verifiable data on tax receipts from fuels to justify claims that tax cuts caused the shortfall.
Earlier the same day Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski confirmed that a budget rebalance will be prepared and said he expects the parliamentary procedure to be finalised during October.
Photo: press material from the event
