In January 2018, Government’s Consolidated Fund registered a deficit of
€13.1 million, the NSO said today
Compared to the same month last year, government recurrent revenue registered an increase of €21.9 million whereas total expenditure went up by €19.1 million. This resulted in a positive change in the Government’s Consolidated Fund by €2.8 million.
In January 2018, recurrent revenue was recorded at €283.0 million, up from €261.2 million last year.
The comparative increase of 8.4 per cent was primarily the result of higher Income Tax and Social Security which both increased by €16.5 million and €13.9 million respectively. Moreover, increases were also recorded for Value Added Tax (€3.6 million) and Licences, Taxes and Fines (€3.3 million).
Conversely, decreases were mainly recorded in Grants (€4.0 million), Rents (€3.2 million), Central
Bank of Malta (€3.0 million), Reimbursements (€1.8million), Customs and Excise Duties (€1.6 million) and Fees of Office (€1.4 million).
Compared to January 2017, total expenditure stood at €296.1 million up from €277.0 million due to added outlays on recurrent expenditure and interest expenditure which outweighed lower spending on capital expenditure.
Recurrent expenditure stood at €268.5 million from €249.5 million last year. The main contributors to this increase were Personal Emoluments and Programmes and Initiatives with a rise of €7.8 million and €7.6 million respectively. The main developments in the Programmes and Initiatives category involved added outlays due to state contribution (€6.8 million which also features as revenue), Health
Concession Agreements (€5.1 million), Feed in Tariff (€5.0 million) and social security benefits (€3.6 million). On the other hand, lower outlays for EU Own Resources (€10.2 million) and public service obligations (€2.3 million) were recorded. Contributions to Government Entities increased by €5.7 million. Conversely, Operational and Maintenance Expenses decreased by €2.0 million.
The interest component of the public debt servicing costs stood at €18.3 million, up from €17.5 million last year.
Government’s capital expenditure witnessed a decrease of €0.7 million, and was recorded at €9.3 million. This was mainly the result of lower outlays related to EU Cohesion Fund 2007-2013 (€1.2 million).
At the end of January 2018, Central Government Debt stood at €5,386.3 million, down by €112.2 million over the corresponding month last year. This was the result of lower Malta Government Stocks and Treasury Bills which decreased by €113.0 million and €86.2 million respectively. Moreover Foreign Loans decreased by €10.4 million. On the other hand, the 62+ Malta Government Savings Bond added €99.6 million and Euro coins issued in the name of the Treasury increased by €6.0 million. Higher holdings by government funds in Malta Government Stocks resulted in a decrease in debt of €8.2 million .