Ilsur Metshin about the budget of 2016: "We managed to fulfill all the obligations undertaken"

(KZN.RU, April 12, Alsu Safina). Deputies of the Kazan City Duma approved the report on the execution of the budget for 2016 today at the XV session. The budget of Kazan for 2016 was executed on incomes in the amount of 22 billion 405 million 731 thousand rubles, on expenses - in the amount of 21 billion 824 million 633 thousand rubles with excess of income over expenses (budget surplus of the municipal entity of Kazan) in the amount of 581.1 million rubles.

“2016 was expected to be rather complicated, and the Executive Committee took measures to ensure the completeness of income receipt to the city budget in the conditions of an unstable economic situation. The stable dynamics of income receipt not only in the budget of the city but also in higher budgets was provided due to constant systematic work”,"said Radik Shafigullin, the head of the Financial Department.

He said that in 2016, 135.5 billion tax revenues were mobilized from the city. Over the year, the increase in tax revenues amounted to more than 18 billion rubles, 11 billion of which were the VAT, 3 billion - various types of excise taxes, and 4 billion rubles – an income tax. All these payments are credited to higher budgets.

R. Shafigullin reminded that the budget for 2016 was approved for income and expenses in a balanced way, amounting to 19 billion 316 million rubles. The execution of income amounted to 22 billion 406 million rubles, 60% of which - the city's own revenues (tax and non-tax), and 40% - free of charge transfers from higher budgets. The difference between the adopted and fulfilled budget amounted to 3 billion 90 million rubles, including 644 million rubles - the city's own revenues, 2 billion 446 million rubles – the financial assistance.

R. Shafigullin said that the income from personal income taxes amounted to 4 billion 40 million rubles. Kazan has the highest growth rate for this tax among the cities with a million-population - 110.6 by 2015.

The head of the Financial Department also said that if the income for individuals' income increased last year due to the growth of wages, the income of land tax decreased. Answering the question of the deputy Bulat Kutdusov on the reasons of this, R. Shafigullin explained that this is due to the practice of challenging the cadastral value of land plots. “Losses in the courts amounted to almost 60 million rubles only in 2016”, he said, adding that this trend is also observed in other cities.

“The fall of a land tax in 2016 compared with 2015 is observed in 9 cities among 13 cities with million-population”, said R. Shafigullin. “Even taking into account the decrease in the revenues of the land tax, Kazan is on the first place among the cities with a million-population in its volume”.

The volume of taxes on total income amounted to 1 billion 913 million rubles. Compared to 2015, revenues increased by 8%, or by 136 million rubles.

As for non-tax revenues, the trend of decreasing their income has been outlined in recent years. “The main part of non-tax revenues is formed through the use and sale of municipal property. Over the past 5 years, the share of non-tax revenues in MFs own budget revenues has decreased from 27% in 2012 to 22% in the past period”, he said.

The volume of gratuitous income from higher budgets last year amounted to 9 billion 61 million rubles.

The volume of expenditures of the Kazan budget for 2016 amounted to 21 billion 825 million rubles, almost 60% of which was spent on education, 11% - on landscaping, 10% - on national expenditures, and 7% - on housing.

Radik Shafigullin said that the budget expenditures under the “Education’ section amounted to 12 billion 376 million rubles. He reminded that in Kazan there are 324 kindergartens, which are visited by more than 68 thousand pupils, 167 schools, in which 112 thousand children are studying, and 106 institutions of additional education, in which about 100 thousand children are engaged. 78% fall on labor in the structure of expenditures of the budget for education, 8% - on utility payments, 4% - on payment of taxes, and 3% - on expenses for food. In addition, expenses for the current repairs of educational institutions amounted to 217 million rubles last year. “This is the largest amount of funds that we sent for these purposes over past 10 years”, added R. Shafigullin.

Expenditures in the field of youth policy amounted to 441 million rubles. Now, 5 youth policy institutions operate in Kazan, which unite 57 teenage clubs and 12 health camps. The cost of maintaining these institutions amounted to 236 million rubles, and 184 million rubles was spent on the organization of recreation of 37,000 children in health camps.

Expenses for the improvement amounted to 2 billion 359 million rubles, 1 billion 418 million rubles of which were directed to the current maintenance and repair of roads and road infrastructure.

“Also, the costs of maintaining and repairing street lighting facilities, green spaces, fountains, modular toilet pavilions, irrigation systems for green areas, small architectural forms, cemeteries, liquidation of spontaneous landfills, floral and New Year decorations of the city, and snow utilization are carried out at the expense of the budget. The amount of funds, allocated for these purposes, is 922 million rubles. In addition, 19 million rubles were allocated for the installation of safety fences and bus-stops”, said R. Shafigullin.

1 billion 523 million rubles was spent on housing and communal services, billion 118 million rubles of which 1 is for the cost of resettlement of citizens from an emergency housing, and 395 million rubles is for major repairs of apartment buildings.

Expenditures on the division of social policy amounted to 1 billion 179 million rubles. These funds were used to ensure equal access to public transport services for certain categories of citizens, to provide full-fledged hot meals for certain categories of schoolchildren, and other purposes.

Expenditures under the section “Culture” amounted to 494 million rubles, 414 million of which is for the maintenance of cultural institutions. 80 million rubles was spent on holding citywide events.

As for the section “Transport”, the volume of expenses there amounted to 483 million rubles.

R. Shafigullin also reported that budget funds in the amount of 270 million rubles to pay property taxes were released in 2016 due to the decision to transfer the objects of improvement (the street-road network, safety fences, bus-stops, road signs, sewers, and lighting networks) to the municipal treasury. “If earlier budget expenditures for these purposes amounted to 275 million rubles, now we are spending only 5 million rubles from the budget”, he explained.

“The measures taken in the process of budget execution allowed us to fully finance all planned budget expenditures, while preserving its social focus and attract federal and republican funds for the realization of our powers”, said R. Shafigullin.

“The budget of the city was very tense. We had to implement it in a difficult economic environment. We managed to fulfill all our commitments and, the main thing, to not reduce the measures of social support. Not a single program was closed”, noted Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan.