Jürgen Ligi is the Minister of Finance. He says that mistakes were made in 2016. These mistakes affect the state budget today.
Ligi does not read the budget precisely. He looks at it quickly. Officials do the detailed work. They have a hard job.
Experts are concerned. There is a big deficit in the budget. Ligi is also concerned. War and defense costs make the situation difficult. The European Union changed the rules. Now countries can arm themselves more.
Ligi did not like the tax cuts. He says they are not realistic. Some taxes are bad for the economy. The coalition ended these taxes.
The state spends a lot of money. For example, on education, culture, and security. But the departments are modest. The Ministry of Finance employs 2700 people. Their budget did not increase.
Major mistakes were made in 2016. Countries violated budget rules. They changed taxes. This led to an unbalanced situation. The alcohol excise was the first mistake. Reserves became insufficient. It was difficult during the crisis.