Budget revenues beat target for the year until end-November
Budget revenues for the first 11 months of 2013 beat their target by 0.4 percent, according to data released yesterday by the Finance Ministry.
This was the first time since March that the year’s revenues beat their target, while tax rebates also exceeded the amount provided by the budget by 500 million euros to reach 3.06 billion euros, against plans for 2.56 billion.
November revenues, in particular, overshot their target by 14 percent to reach 2.37 billion euros, while revenues from valueadded tax fared 1.8 percent better than projected by the 2013 budget. VAT revenues for the year to end-November were 3.3 percent better than had been forecast.
However, data from the General Secretariat for Public Revenues also showed an increase in expired debts from 62.88 billion euros to 63.34 in November, as Greek taxpayers are finding it increasingly hard to meet their obligations. The total of overdue debts collected in the first 11 months of the year amounted to 2.86 billion euros, which was 30.1 percent or 680 million euros more than in the same month in 2012
is encouraged by the fact that the number of new debtors was reduced in November 2013. (2.19 billion euros). Overdue debt collection in November came to 408.8 million euros, making it the month with the best record this year in this respect. The ministry is encouraged by the fact that the number of new debtors was reduced.
November figures also showed a major increase in revenues from direct and indirect taxes from previous financial years, as authorities collected overdue taxes amounting to 196 million euros, compared with 78 million a year earlier.
General Secretary for Public Revenues Haris Theoharis commented on the 11-month results, saying that “at the end of a very difficult year both for Greek taxpayers and for the tax collection mechanism, whose staff has a decisive contribution in ongoing changes, the improvement in meeting targets is obvious. This success not only belongs to all the personnel of the tax administration authorities but also to the taxpayers who have fulfilled their obligations and who are part of the joint effort to restructure the national economy so that we can exit the crisis as fast as possible.”