Government registers €98m deficit by end February – NSO
Government’s capital spending amounted to €66.5 million by the end of February, an increase of €2 million from 2019.
By the end of February 2020, the Government’s Consolidated Fund reported a deficit of €98.4 million, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said yesterday.
Between January and February 2020, recurrent revenue rose by €23.1 million and amounted to €712.2 million. This reflected a 3.3% increase from the €689.2 million reported in revenue by the end of February 2019.
The rise was primarily the result of a €7.6 million increase recorded under Miscellaneous Receipts, followed by a €7 million rise in Licences, Taxes and Fines. Added revenue was also reported under Customs and Excise Duties (€4.2 million), Income Tax (€2.9 million), Fees of Office (€2.7 million), Rents (€1.8 million), Dividends on Investment (€1.5 million) and Reimbursements (€0.1 million).
In contrast, drops were witnessed under Grants (€3.3 million), Value Added Tax (€0.8 million) and Social Security (€0.4 million). Total expenditure by the end of February 2020 amounted to €810.6 million, a 7.8% increase from the same period in 2019.
Recurrent expenditure stood at €713.5 million, representing a €62.6 million increase from the €650.9 million total recorded by the end of February 2019. The main contributor to this increase was a €34.7 million rise reported under Contributions to Government Entities.
Furthermore, rises in outlay were also registered by Programmes and Initiatives (€33.7 million) and Personal Emoluments (€1.3 million), while Operational and Maintenance Expenses declined by €7.1 million.
Government’s capital spending amounted to €66.5 million by the end of February, an increase of €2 million from 2019.
The difference between total revenue and expenditure resulted in a deficit of €98.4 million being reported in the Government’s Consolidated Fund by the end of February 2020, a €35.5 million rise from the deficit of €62.9 million witnessed during the same period in 2019. The main driver of the difference was a higher reported increase in total expenditure, consisting of recurrent expenditure (€62.6 million), interest (€6.1 million) and capital expenditure (€2million), in comparison to the rise in recurrent revenue (€23.1 million).
By the end of February 2020, Central Government Debt stood at €5,543.7 million, a €103.3 million rise from February 2019. This was primarily the result of a €97.2 million increase exhibited under the 62+ Malta Government Savings Bond, in addition to rises reported under Malta Government Stocks (€16.7 million), Euro Coins issued in the name of the Treasury (€5 million) and Treasury Bills (€3.7 million). Conversely, Foreign Loans fell by €0.1 million. Higher holdings by government funds in Malta Government Stocks also resulted in a decrease in debt of €19.2 million.