KIEV, Dec. 4 – Ukraine's government plans to dramatically widen the budget deficit next year, according to the draft 2013 budget, itself based on an optimistic economic growth scenario.

The government, which was dismissed by President Viktor Yanukovych on Monday, forecast the budget deficit at 50.4 billion hryvnias in 2013, or 3.2% of gross domestic product.

This is a sharp increase from the budget deficit of 25 billion hryvnias, or 1.8% of GDP, which had been originally forecast for 2012.

The real budget deficit will probably widen further this year because the government has failed to meet its revenue targets due to economic slowdown, officials said.

But what potentially raises even more questions is that the 2013 forecast is based on the assumption that Ukraine’s economy will grow a healthy 3.4% on the year in 2013, reflecting the optimistic scenario.

A weaker growth, which is more likely considering economic contraction recorded in the third quarter, would lead to budget revenue missing targets next year, expanding budget deficit to levels that will be hard to sustain.

“We are at a borderline that is called default,” Arseniy Yatseniuk, the leader of the opposition Batkivshchyna party, said in an interview with ICTV on Tuesday.

The government submitted the draft to Parliament on Monday and wants it to be approved by outgoing lawmakers at their last session on Thursday before newly elected lawmakers take their seats next week.

“This budget is not ideal,” Dmytro Sviatash, a lawmaker from the ruling Regions Party, said an in interview with TVi on Tuesday. “But it’s better to have a bad budget than no budget.”

The budget needs to be approved before the end of December to make sure the government can go ahead with its spending schedule in January 2013. If no budget is approved, the government will probably be forced to cut some spending.

The government was originally supposed to submit the 2013 budget draft to Parliament in September, but parliamentary elections in October and lengthy discussions with the International Monetary Fund had led to delay.

“The budget is drafted in force majeure,” Sviatash said. “We couldn’t debate the budget draft fully because everybody was campaigning at the elections. Now there is a threat Ukraine will be left without the budget.”

The government forecast budget revenue at 361.5 billion hryvnias in 2013, while budget spending at 410.7 billion hryvnias, according to the draft. (tl/ez)