Last Updated on Tuesday, 13 August, 2019 at 11:01 am by Christian Keszthelyi
The Maltese government’s consolidated fund registered a deficit of €62.9m at the end of February, up from a deficit of €55m by the end of January, according to figures published by Malta’s National Statistics Office (NSO).
In the first two months of the year, recurrent revenue amounted to €689.2m, up by 4.8% (€31.3m), as compared to €657.9m by the end of February a year earlier, NSO figures reveal.
The revenue was chiefly boosted by an increase in the income tax (€21.6m) and social security (€19.5m); while further growth occurred in value-added tax (€7.2m), rents (€2m), and the licences, taxes and fines segment (€0.8m).
Outlay drops occurred in dividends (€4.8m), the Central Bank of Malta (€4m), fees of office (€3.7m), reimbursements and grants (both €2.6m), customs and excise duties (€1.6m) and miscellaneous receipts (€0.5m).
Total expenditure at the end of February was up by a year-on-year 17.7% to €752.1m. Recurrent expenditure stood was up by €73.9m to €650.9m. The increase was chiefly fuelled by a €53.2m rise in programmes and initiatives, followed by personal emoluments (€14.4m), operational and maintenance expenses (€3.4m) and contributions to government entities (€3m).
“The difference between total revenue and expenditure resulted in a deficit of €62.9m being reported in the Government’s Consolidated Fund by the end of February 2019, compared to a surplus of €18.7m during the same period in 2018. The main catalysts in the difference were increased outlays in both recurrent and capital expenditure,” the NSO says in the report.
The full report including charts and visual representation of data is available for download at the website of NSO.
The Maltese government’s consolidated fund registered a deficit of €55m by the end of January, while recurrent revenue rose by year-on-year €19.4m (6.8%) to €302.4m — from January 2018’s €283m —, according to recent figures published by Malta’s National Statistics Office (NSO).
