In the second quarter of 2021, the General Government recorded a deficit of €220.1 million, the NSO said in a statement.
During the period April to June 2021, total revenue stood at €1,395.1 million, an increase of €190.3 million when compared to the corresponding quarter in 2020.
Almost all components of General Government revenue recorded an increase, with Current taxes on income and wealth registering an increase of €116.9 million over the same period last year. This was followed by Taxes on production and imports (€72.5 million), Capital transfers receivable (€17.2 million), Market output (€9.5 million) and Property income receivable (€3.4 million). In contrast, Net social contributions receivable registered a decrease of €27.9 million, while Current transfers receivable fell by €1.3 million.
Total expenditure in the second quarter of 2021 amounted to €1,615.2 million, an increase of €41.1 million over the corresponding quarter in 2020. The largest increase in expenditure was recorded in Compensation of employees (€45.5 million), followed by Current transfers payable (€14.8 million), Gross capital formation (€14.0 million) and Capital transfers payable (€10.9 million). Other increases were registered in Social benefits and social transfers in kind (€6.2 million), Property income payable (€2.4 million) and Current taxes on income and wealth (€0.2 million).
These increases were partially offset by decreases in Subsidies payable (€27.9 million), mostly owing to lower government outlay on the COVID-19 Business Assistance Programme, and Intermediate consumption (€25.0 million).
To achieve compliance with the provisions of ESA 2010, adjustments to the Consolidated Fund data were made. In the second quarter of 2021, these adjustments brought about a decrease of €82.0 million to the Consolidated Fund deficit. Quarterly financial accounts (t/t-1) In relation to financial transactions in assets, during the second quarter, Currency and deposits and Other accounts receivable registered an increase of €1,179.5 million and €87.3 million, respectively. Equity and investment fund shares increased by €9.0 million, while Long-term debt securities rose by €4.3 million. On the other hand, Long[1]term loans recorded a decrease of €0.5 million.
Considering the financial transactions in liabilities, the highest increase was recorded in Other accounts payable (€679.0 million), followed by Long-term debt securities (€279.2 million), Long-term loans (€178.4 million) and Short-term debt securities (€73.1 million). Currency and deposits and Short-term loans also increased by €0.9 million and €0.4 million, respectively (Table 8). Quarterly debt. At the end of June, General Government debt stood at €8,025.8 million, or 59.5 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
This equates to an increase of €1,368.1 million over the corresponding quarter in 2020, largely reflected in Central Government Debt, which amounted to €8,022.9 million. Currency and deposits stood at €468.7 million, an increase of €90.8 million over June of 2020.
This includes the euro coins issued in the name of the Treasury, considered a liability of Central Government, and the 62+ Malta Government Savings Bond, the latter amounting to €378.1 million. Long-term debt securities and Long-term loans increased by €866.6 million and €422.7 million, respectively. Additionally, Short-term loans registered an increase of €3.3 million, while Short-term debt securities declined by €15.3 million. Local Government debt stood at €2.9 million. General Government guaranteed debt amounted to €1,186.9 million at the end of June 2021, equivalent to 8.8 per cent of GDP. There was an increase of €127.2 million when compared to the second quarter of 2020.