A fiscal surplus during July

Minister for Finance Prof. Edward Scicluna has welcomed the latest Government Finance Data, published by the National Statistics Office, which shows that during the month of July, government recorded a surplus of €25m in the Consolidated Fund. The surplus reflected an increase of €28m in total revenue while total expenditure decreased by €10m over July of last year.

“We have been able to start the second half of this year with a monthly surplus. This augurs well for reaching the fiscal target for this year,” Minister Scicluna stated.

During the first seven months of this year, tax revenue continued to be robust, increasing by €181m. The significant increase in tax revenues continued to reflect the buoyant growth recorded in employment coupled with a record low unemployment rate as well as the consistent increases in private consumption. Indeed, despite a significant decline in revenue from EU grants of €65m from the peak in revenue recorded in 2017, total recurrent revenue still increased by €98m.

Expenditure on public investment projects increased by €23m for the first seven months of this year. Similarly, recurrent expenditure also increased, however, the increase was in line with MFIN projections for the period between January and July.

The Ministry for Finance was also pleased to note the consistent reductions in national debt in absolute terms. Indeed, the debt decreased by €193m yearon-year by the end of July.