In January-February 2018, Government’s Consolidated Fund registered a surplus of €18.7 million, the NSO said today.
Government Finance Data: January-February 2018
Compared to the same period last year, recurrent revenue registered an increase of €36.3 million whereas total expenditure went up by €48.2 million. This resulted in a negative change in the
Government’s Consolidated Fund by €11.9 million.
In January-February 2018, recurrent revenue was recorded at €657.9 million, up from €621.6 million last year. The comparative increase of 5.8 per cent was primarily the result of higher Value Added
Tax and Income Tax which both increased by €33.7 million and €24.3 million respectively. Moreover, increases were also recorded for Social Security (€16.7 million), Dividends on Investment (€5.0 million) and Reimbursements (€2.0 million). Conversely, decreases were mainly recorded in Grants (€21.0 million), Rents (€6.1 million), Central Bank of Malta (€6.0 million), Licences, Taxes and Fines (€4.9 million), Miscellaneous Receipts (€4.8million) and Fees of Office (€2.0 million).
Compared to January-February 2017, total expenditure stood at €639.1 million up from €590.9 million due to added outlays on recurrent expenditure which outweighed lower spending on capital expenditure and interest expenditure.
Recurrent expenditure stood at €577.0 million from €521.3 million last year. The main contributors to this increase were Programmes and Initiatives and Personal Emoluments with a rise of €38.5 million and €13.5 million respectively. The main developments in the Programmes and Initiatives category involved added outlays due to church schools (€11.8 million), state contribution (€9.5 million which also features as revenue), social security benefits (€7.2 million), Feed in Tariff (€5.0 million), Provision of Spare Capacity (€3.5 million), public service obligations (€3.1 million), Medicines and Surgical Materials (€3.0 million) and Jobsplus Programmes (€2.0 million). On the other hand, lower outlays for
EU Own Resources (€5.4 million) were recorded. Contributions to Government Entities increased by €4.2 million. Conversely, Operational and Maintenance Expenses decreased by €0.5 million.
The interest component of the public debt servicing costs stood at €36.3 million, down from €36.8 million last year.
Government’s capital expenditure witnessed a decrease of €7.0 million, and was recorded at €25.8million. This was mainly the result of lower spending on construction works and equipment (€2.1 million), film industry incentives (€1.4 million), EU Structural Funds 2014-2020 (€1.3 million) and road construction improvements (€1.1 million).
At the end of February 2018, Central Government Debt stood at €5,409.0 million, down by €261.4 million over the corresponding month last year. This was the result of lower Malta Government Stocks and Treasury Bills which decreased by €295.8 million and €53.2 million respectively. Moreover Foreign
Loans decreased by €10.4 million. On the other hand, the new 62+ Malta Government Savings Bond added €99.6 million and Euro coins issued in the name of the Treasury increased by €5.9 million.
Higher holdings by government funds in Malta Government Stocks resulted in a decrease in debt of €7.4 million.