Helme said there’s something positive in every crisis. For instance, the EU budgetary rules which prevent Estonia from borrowing allow for exceptions in emergencies.
“When there is a decline, you do have the right to spend more, go more into the red with the budget,” said Helme, who has previously said that the current Estonian government will face off the new crisis not saving but spending.
According to the minister of finance, state investments are a positive thing anyway in the long run and it would be a sin to refuse borrowing now.
While there are still no anomalies or negative signs in tax revenue for the first months of the year, one has to be prepared for it now. For ensuring the functioning of business, one of the possibilities and the fastest means, according to Helme, is lowering taxes – even if for a short term and possibly with a specific sector in mind.
“This we can do right away – it’s like an invigorating injection into a vein. No matter on what scale we make it – 100, 200, 500 million – it will reach the economy right away,” he said.
Helme said that no cuts are being considered at this point and no austerity committees are about to be convened by the government.