PRAGUE (Reuters) – The Czech lower house of parliament approved a government plan to run a record 500 billion crown ($21.11 billion) central state budget deficit in 2020, more than 12 times the original target, set before the coronavirus pandemic hit.
The gap would be equal to around 9% of the country’s expected 2020 gross domestic product. That is before a potential additional impact of local budgets, the health system and other parts of the public sector is factored into overall public finances.
(Reporting by Jason Hovet; Editing by Catherine Evans)
