In January-May 2018, Government’s Consolidated Fund registered a deficit of €78.0 million, the NSO said today.
Compared to the same period last year, recurrent revenue registered an increase of €9.8 million whereas total expenditure went up by €85.2 million. This resulted in a negative change in the Government’s Consolidated Fund by €75.4 million.
In January-May 2018, recurrent revenue was recorded at €1,577.9 million, up from €1,568.1 million last year. The comparative increase of 0.6 per cent was primarily the result of higher Income Tax and Social Security which both increased by €37.7 million and €28.2 million respectively. Moreover, increases were also recorded for Licences, Taxes and Fines (€17.8 million), Value Added Tax (€16.4 million) and Customs and Excise Duties (€4.1 million). Conversely, decreases were mainly recorded in Grants (€66.9 million), Fees of Office (€13.8 million), Central Bank of Malta (€9.0 million) and Rents (€5.8 million).
Compared to January-May 2017, total expenditure stood at €1,655.9 million up from €1,570.7 million due to added outlays on recurrent expenditure and capital expenditure which outweighed lower spending on interest payments.
Recurrent expenditure stood at €1,439.5 million from €1,353.7 million last year. The main contributors to this increase were Programmes and Initiatives and Personal Emoluments with a rise of €47.3 million and €26.8 million respectively. The main developments in the Programmes and Initiatives category involved added outlays due to social security benefits (€18.4 million), state contribution (€10.5 million which also features as revenue), feed-in tariff (€10.0 million), medicines and surgical materials (€9.4 million), church schools (€4.7 million), residential private care (€2.9 million), health concession agreements (€2.8 million), treasury pensions (€2.2 million), Jobsplus programmes (€1.9 million) and child care for all (€1.6 million). This increase was offset by lower outlays related to the EU Presidency 2017 (€13.5 million) and the Heads of Government Event (€3.5 million). Contributions to Government Entities and Operational and Maintenance Expenses increased by €9.5 million and €2.2 million respectively.
The interest component of the public debt servicing costs stood at €85.2 million, down from €89.6 million last year.
Government’s capital expenditure witnessed an increase of €3.8 million from the same period last year, and was recorded at €131.2 million. This was mainly the result of higher spending on road construction and improvements (€9.6 million), National Identity Management System (€2.3 million) and works on the shooting range (€2.0 million). On the other hand, lower outlays related to construction, refurbishment and restoration (€6.0 million) were recorded.
At the end of May 2018, Central Government Debt stood at €5,386.2 million, down by €209.4 million over the corresponding month last year. This was the result of lower Malta Government Stocks and Foreign Loans which decreased by €417.6 million and €10.4 million respectively. Higher holdings by government funds in Malta Government Stocks also resulted in a decrease in debt of €4.7 million. On the other hand, Treasury Bills added €118.0 million, the new 62+ Malta Government Savings Bond added €99.5 million, and Euro coins issued in the name of the Treasury increased by €5.8 million.