YEREVAN. – Even though the state budget revenues of Armenia were 8.4 percent less than projected for the year past, budget expenditures reduced by solely 0.7 percent.

The aforesaid is noted in the 2016 State Budget performance report, which was approved at Thursday’s Cabinet session of the government.

Accordingly, the budget deficit was about 5.5 percent of the GDP, whereas 5.9 percent was projected.

Tax revenues were collected by 92 percent, and the budget revenues amounted to 23.1 percent of the GDP, which is 0.1-percent-point less than in 2015.

Last year, taxes were not collected as much due to the lower-than-expected GDP. As a result, economic growth was just 0.2 percent, instead of the projected 2.2 percent.

The GDP fell due to the slowdown in economic growth in the latter half of 2016. Fewer taxes were collected also because of easing the tax regime in several cases.