New 2011 budget is going into effect as of January 1, providing for revenues of RSD 724 billion, expenditures of 845 billion, and a deficit of 120 billion (EUR 1 = RSD 105.8).

The macroeconomic projections, which are "calculated" with the aim of achieving the budget projections, envisage a growth of the gross domestic product (GDP) by three percent and the thawing of pensions and salaries with a growth by two percent.

In doing so, care should be taken not to exceed a maximum allocation of eight percent of GDP from the budget for salaries and at the highest, ten percent of GDP for pensions.

The budget was designed in accordance with the estimate that GDP growth in 2011 would be three percent and the inflation rate within 4.5 plus or minus 1.5 percent.

The budget revenues from the collection of taxes should be higher by 10.1 percent than in 2010, and the growth is expected to come mostly from the corporate income tax - 20.3 percent, while 18.9 percent should come from the collection of excise duties, 10.9 percent from the value added tax (VAT) and 7.6 percent from income taxes.

The planned budget expenditures include three raises in salaries and pensions - the first by two percent, in January; the second, in April, would amount to as much as three-month rise in inflation; while the final one, in October, would harmonize salaries and pensions with the six-month increase in inflation and increase them by half of the GDP growth in 2010.

The budget was planned in accordance with the fiscal rules that are stipulated by the Budget System Law and planned to reduce the budget deficit to one percent of GDP by 2015.

Along with the budget for next year, the MPs approved the 2011 financial plans of the Republic Fund for Pension and Disability Insurance, the Republic Health Insurance Fund and the National Employment Service.