In January-June 2018, Government’s Consolidated Fund registered a deficit of €141.9 million, the NSO said today.

Compared to the same period last year, recurrent revenue registered an increase of €69.9 million whereas total expenditure went up by €119.8 million. This resulted in a negative change in the Government’s Consolidated Fund by €49.9 million.

In January-June 2018, recurrent revenue was recorded at €1,898.3 million, up from €1,828.4 million last year. The comparative increase of 3.8 per cent was primarily the result of higher Income Tax and Social Security which both increased by €58.4 million and €43.9 million respectively. Moreover, increases were also recorded for Value Added Tax (€28.7 million), Licences, Taxes and Fines (€21.7 million), Customs and Excise Duties (€6.9 million), Dividends on Investment (€3.5 million) and Reimbursements (€2.5 million). Conversely, decreases were mainly recorded in Grants (€66.9 million), Fees of Office (€11.2 million), Central Bank of Malta (€8.0 million), Rents (€5.3 million) and Miscellaneous Receipts (€4.3 million).

Compared to January-June 2017, total expenditure stood at €2,040.2 million, up from €1,920.4 million due to added outlays on recurrent expenditure and capital expenditure which outweighed lower spending on interest payments.

Recurrent expenditure stood at €1,796.6 million from €1,674.2 million last year. The main contributors to this increase were Programmes and Initiatives, and Personal Emoluments - a rise of €65.0 million and €30.1 million respectively. The Programmes and Initiatives category involved added outlays on social security benefits (€17.2 million), Church schools (€16.0 million), state contribution (€14.9 million which also features as revenue), health concession agreements (€13.1 million), feed-in tariff (€10.0 million) and medicines and surgical materials (€4.4 million).This increase was offset by lower outlays related to the EU Own Resources (€10.8 million). Contributions to Government Entities and

Operational and Maintenance Expenses increased by €24.4 million and €2.9 million respectively.

The interest component of the public debt servicing costs stood at €101.0 million, down from €106.2 million last year.

Government’s capital expenditure registered an increase of €2.6 million from the same period last year, at €142.7 million. This was mainly the result of higher spending on road construction and improvements (€10.5 million) and National Identity Management System (€4.2 million). On the other hand, lower outlays related to EU Cohesion Funds 2007-2013 (€6.7 million) and construction, refurbishment and restoration (€4.9 million) were recorded.

At the end of June 2018, Central Government Debt stood at €5,480.3 million, down by €91.7 million over the corresponding month last year. This was the result of lower Malta Government Stocks and Foreign Loans which decreased by €424.1 million and €10.4 million respectively. Higher holdings by government funds in Malta Government Stocks also resulted in a decrease in debt of €4.4 million. On the other hand, the 62+ Malta Government Savings Bond added €193.0 million, Treasury Bills added €148.6 million, and Euro coins issued in the name of the Treasury increased by €5.7 million.