The Polish parliament voted for spending money without control
2022.11.16 13:09
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The Polish parliament voted for spending money without control
Budrigannews.com – Poland’s parliament has approved a bill to ease restrictions on additional spending in 2022 for defense and support related to the energy crisis and inflation, voting records show.
The ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party says the bill is needed to strengthen Poland’s defense and help those suffering from living expenses, while opposition lawmakers have accused it of being financially irresponsible.
Deputy Finance Minister Pyotr Patkovsky told the state news agency PAP that the law would create space for spending of 30 billion Zloty (q6.65 billion).
“Based on this bill, the minister will not be able to spend even zlotys above what is included in the relevant law, but will give a potential additional space of 1ppt relative to GDP and exceed the planned spending limit for 2022,” Patkowski said.
The bill also eliminates taxes on state-guaranteed bonds to make it easier to fund certain programs.
Poland is using bonds issued by the BGK National Development Bank and the PFR State Fund to finance the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and increased defense spending.
The government says that this makes the financing process faster and more efficient, but critics say that it simply helps public finances look healthier than they really are, since this indebtedness is not included as public debt.
The bill was supported by 229 lawmakers, with 214 voting against and 1 vice president abstaining.
The bill now goes to the Upper House of Parliament, the Senate.
($1 = 4.5103 zlotys)
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