Last week, first vice-president and minister of finance, Helio Fallas, was called to make a statement before the Legislative Assembly’s Commission of Income and Public Expenditure as they work to settle the country’s 2016 extraordinary budget, said the Finance Ministry in a statement.

At his appearance before the commission, the minister said, “you are well aware … that this extraordinary budget does not meet the needs of the government. … the court’s decisions require us to budget resources, even though the country knows … that there is not enough income to meet the obligations created during other legislatures when they passed laws without identifying funding sources,” explained Fallas.

Fallas warned lawmakers that the country’s failure to approve the proposed income tax plan and reform the value-added tax (VAT) would bring the country’s deficit close to 7 percent of gross domestic product.

The minister said his statements before the commission have been taken out of context and are being used as an excuse to “avoid progress on what is really important.”

He said economic projections point to the country’s debt exceeding 60 percent of GDP by 2021 if the revenue situation remains unchanged.

Fallas also added that between 2018 and 2021, about 33 percent of the country’s contracted debt will come due, so the Ministry of Finance must gather the resources to meet these obligations.

“Administrative efforts and technological improvements are insufficient. We need a new VAT and new income tax legislation that closes the loopholes that allow evasion. The situation is worrying and warrants a prompt and serious discussion, putting the country as a priority above other interests,” urged Fallas.

The Comptroller General of the Republic Marta Acosta also appeared before the commission and emphatically echoed the minister’s appeal.

“The indifference to the situation we live in is a luxury we can not afford without causing irreparable damage to society … The decisions and agreements of this assembly, those of the government as well as the various interest groups are indispensable to succeed,” concluded Fallas, as he encouraged unity around the urgent issue of the government’s limited ability to continue to meet its expenses.