Central Government debt up by nearly €950m to edge closer to €10bn – NSO
At the end of October, Central Government debt stood at €9,680.9m, an increase of €942.9m when compared to 2022, the NSO said Friday.
The increase reported under Malta Government Stocks (€1,401.2m) was the main contributor to the rise in debt. Higher debt was also reported under euro coins issued in the name of the Treasury (€4.6m).
This increase in debt was partially offset by drops in Treasury Bills (€415.5m) and the 62+ Malta Government Savings Bond (€23.5m). Finally, higher holdings by government funds in Malta Government Stocks resulted in a decrease in debt of €23.9m.
The NSO said that by the end of October, the government’s Consolidated Fund reported a deficit of €155.7m.
Between January and October, Recurrent Revenue amounted to €5,223.4m, €694.9m higher than the figure reported a year earlier. The largest increases were recorded under Income Tax (€427.8m), Social Security (€91.2m) and Grants (€62.4m). On the other hand, the main drops in revenue were reported under Miscellaneous Receipts (€36.9m) and Central Bank of Malta (€22.2m).
Total expenditure by the end of October stood at €5,379.0m, €202.2m higher than the previous year.
During the reference period, Recurrent Expenditure totalled €4,659.4m, an increase of €126.7m compared to the €4,532.7m reported at the end of October 2022. The main contributor to this increase was a €61m rise reported under Contributions to Government Entities. Higher contributions were made, among others, towards the Malta Tourism Authority (€11.8m), Resource Support and Services Ltd (€9.3m) and Environment and Resources Authority (€5.1m). Furthermore, increases were also recorded under Operational and Maintenance Expenses (€56.9m) and Personal Emoluments (€46.4m). Conversely, Programmes and Initiatives fell by €37.6m.
The main developments in the Programmes and Initiatives category involved lower outlays towards Pandemic assistance schemes (€117.8m) and EU own resources (€52.9m). The drop in outlay was partially offset by increases witnessed under Social security benefits (€87.4m), Medicines and surgical materials (€32.2m) and Tal-Linja card (€17m).
The interest component of the public debt servicing costs totalled €175m, an increase of €30m when compared to the previous year.
Between January and October, the government’s capital spending amounted to €544.7m, €45.5m higher than 2022. This increase resulted from higher expenditure towards the REPowerEU initiative (€20m), Property, plant and equipment (€18.2m) and National Identity Management Systems (€6.6m).
The difference between total revenue and expenditure resulted in a deficit of €155.7m being reported in the Government’s Consolidated Fund at the end of October. Compared to the same period in 2022, there was a decrease in deficit of €492.7m. This difference mirrors an increase in total Recurrent Revenue (€694.9m), partly offset by a rise in total expenditure, which consists of Recurrent Expenditure (€126.7m), Interest (€30m) and Capital Expenditure (€45.5m).