Budget debates spark arguments

The Milli Mejlis continued discussing the draft 2002 state budget Thursday, as chairman of the permanent parliamentary commission on social policy Hadi Rajabov said that the draft estimates social expenses at AZM140 billion. He went on to term the bill socially unjust in spite of its allowance of AZM100,000 for each of the vulnerable.

MP, deputy chairman of the permanent commission on economic policy Ali Alirzayev said that the budget should be not socially, but economically oriented, serving the promotion of entrepreneurship. For this purpose, he suggested that VAT be minimized, property tax be calculated on an enterprise’s capacity rather than its cost and entrepreneurs be loaned. All this, as he says, should be included in the budget projections.

The draft will be in focus in the parliament’s next sessions.*