!!!Bundesbudget

Federal Budget, statement of the planned expenditures and expected 
revenues of the federal government for one financial year (calendar 
year). The overall budget consists of a general budget and an 
equalisation budget. The equalisation budget comprises the estimate 
and calculation of inflows due to the contraction of financial debts, 
expenditure and income arising from currency swap contracts and 
short-term debts. Thus, the federal budget is the numerical 
representation of the federal government´s intended financial 
transactions. The federal budget is annually passed by the Nationalrat 
by adoption of the Federal Finance Act and constitutes the binding 
basis for the financial management of the federal government in the 
fields of public and private sector administration. The Austrian 
economy is strongly influenced by the budget policy, which is closely 
linked to fiscal policy. However, it is almost exclusively is bound by 
legal and contractual commitments and there is little margin for 
focusing on particular policy measures. For some important areas (e.g. 
construction, road construction, railway construction) separate 
companies have been set up on the basis of legal regulations to take 
on the financing and implementation of building measures.

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The Federal Budget Act of 1986 contains the legal principles governing 
the preparation and execution of the federal budget. The Federal 
Ministry of Finance is endowed with special competencies of 
co-ordination.

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The budget guidelines laid down by the  Ministry of Finance constitute 
the starting point for the preparation of the federal budget. These 
guidelines provide the basic figures (expenditure, income and balance 
of accounts) to which the individual  Federal Ministries should 
adhere. Under these guidelines, the various ministers formulate the 
financial requirements for their department and the Federal Minister 
of Finance prepares the draft for the Federal Finance Act. This act is 
approved by the federal government and submitted to the Nationalrat in 
the form of a government bill not later than 10 weeks before the 
end of the financial year, which corresponds to the calendar year. 
After deliberation in the budget committee, the federal budget is 
passed by the plenary of the Nationalrat.

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The principles of thrift, utility and economic efficiency have to be 
taken into consideration in preparing and executing the budget. 
Compliance with these principles with regard to the preparation of the 
budget is controlled by the Nationalrat when the budget is passed. A 
subsidiary organ, the  Court of Audit, supervises and audits the 
execution of the federal budget.

!Literature
F. Roedler, Bundeshaushaltsrecht, 1992.


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