Government’s Consolidated Fund reports €41.6m surplus in Q1 2024
By the end of the first quarter of this year, the government’s Consolidated Fund reported a surplus of €41.6m, the National Statistics Office said on Friday.
At the end of March, Recurrent Revenue amounted to €1,656.6m, €223m higher than the figure reported a year earlier. The largest increases were recorded under Income Tax (€186.1m), Value Added Tax (€57m) and Social Security (€46.6m). On the other hand, the main drops in revenue were reported under Grants (€73.5m), Customs and Excise
Duties (€14.8m) and Sales – Others (€3.6m).
Total expenditure till March stood at €1,615.1m, €45.9m higher than the previous year.
During the reference period, Recurrent Expenditure totalled €1,456.6m, an increase of €53.5m compared to the €1,403.1m reported at the end of March 2023. The main contributor to this increase was a €62.2m rise reported under Programmes and Initiatives. Furthermore, increases were also recorded under Personal Emoluments (€23.9m) and Operational and Maintenance
Expenses (€5m). On the other hand, Contributions to Government Entities fell by €37.6m. The main developments in the Programmes and Initiatives category involved higher outlays towards Social security benefits (€40.9m), the National airline restructuring assistance (€13.8m) and EU own resources (€6.5m).
The interest component of the public debt servicing costs totalled €62.3m, an increase of €16.9m when compared to the previous year.
From January to March, the government’s capital spending amounted to €96.2m, €24.5m lower than the comparative period in 2023. This decrease resulted from lower expenditure towards Investment incentives (€11.2m), Direct aid to farmers (€5.1m) and Digitalisation of health systems (€3.8m).
The difference between revenue and expenditure resulted in a surplus of €41.6m in the government’s Consolidated Fund at the end of March, whereas a year earlier a deficit of €135.5m was reported. This difference mirrors an increase in total Recurrent Revenue (€223m), partly offset by a rise in total expenditure, which consists of Recurrent Expenditure (€53.5m), Interest (€16.9m) and Capital Expenditure (-€24.5m).
At the end of March, Central Government debt stood at €9,949.6m, an increase of €783.2m when compared to 2023. The increase reported under Malta Government Stocks (€1,087.1m) was the main contributor to the rise in debt. Higher debt was also reported under Foreign Loans (€71.9m) and Euro coins issued in the name of the Treasury (€4.2m). This increase in debt was partially offset by drops in Treasury Bills (€280.8m) and the 62+ Malta Government Savings Bond (€43.8m). Finally, higher holdings by government funds in Malta Government Stocks resulted in a decrease in debt of €55.3m.