Serbian Finance Minister Sinisa Mali said on Thursday that the budget surplus in January 2019 was three times higher than planned.

“I am proud of the 22.9 billion Dinar budget surplus and that money will be used in the right way. The excellent economy results give us optimism and confirm that Serbia is on the right path because the economy is growing stronger,” Mali said.  

He said the non-tax income and VAT income had increased along with income and profit taxes and added that this shows that there is no reason for concern over the increase in salaries and pensions.  

“We have put our economy on healthy foundations. A surplus of some 7.8 billion Dinars was planned for January and the result is three times better which gives us hope that we will succeed and significantly effect improvements in the living standards of the citizens of Serbia,” Mali said.