By the end of July 2022, the Government’s Consolidated Fund reported a deficit of €514.9 million, the NSO said Friday.
In the first seven months of 2022, Recurrent Revenue amounted to €3,014.5 million, 14.7 per cent higher than the €2,627.7 million reported a year earlier.
The largest increase was recorded under Value Added Tax (€130.4 million), followed by Income Tax (€120.4 million), Social Security (€74.2 million), Grants (€40.7 million), Licences, Taxes and Fines (€7.0 million), Dividends on Investment (€5.3 million), Rents (€4.8 million), Reimbursements (€2.8 million), Central Bank of Malta (€2.2 million) and Miscellaneous Receipts (€2.0 million). T
he rise in revenue was partially offset by decreases under Customs and Excise Duties (€2.5 million) and Fees of Office (€0.6 million). By the end of July 2022, total expenditure stood at €3,529.3 million, 0.6 per cent higher than the previous year. During the reference period, Recurrent Expenditure totalled €3,113.1 million, an increase of €36.5 million in comparison to the €3,076.6 million reported in the first seven months of 2021. The main contributor to this increase was a €41.9 million increase reported under Programmes and Initiatives.
Furthermore, increases were also witnessed under Personal Emoluments (€10.4 million) and Contributions to Government Entities (€8.6 million). This rise in expenditure outweighed a decrease under Operational and Maintenance Expenses (€24.4 million). The main developments in the Programmes and Initiatives category involved added outlays towards Economic stimulus payments (€48.2 million), Social security benefits (€33.7 million), Energy support measures (€30.3 million), Tax relief measures (€25.9 million), Gas stabilisation fund (€7.6 million), Residential care in private homes (€7.4 million), Child care for all (€6.3 million) and Extension of school transport network (€6.0 million).
This rise in Programmes and Initiatives was partly offset by a decrease under the Pandemic assistance schemes (€123.9 million). The interest component of the public debt servicing costs totalled €100.8 million, a decrease of €2.7 million when compared to the previous year. By the end of July 2022, Government’s capital spending amounted to €315.4 million, €13.2 million lower than 2021. This decrease resulted from lower expenditure towards Property, plant and equipment (€10.3 million), Road construction and improvements (€8.0 million), Gozo Aquatic Centre (€7.7 million), Investments in physical assets (€4.2 million), Acquisitions of property for public purposes (€3.7 million) and National identity management systems (€3.1 million).
This decrease in Capital Expenditure was partially offset by increases under Investment incentives (€12.7 million), Film industry incentives (€8.6 million) and Payments related to home ownership scheme (€2.7 million). The difference between total revenue and expenditure resulted in a deficit of €514.9 million being reported in the Government’s Consolidated Fund at the end of July 2022. Compared to the same period in 2021, there was a decrease in deficit of €366.2 million.
This difference mirrors an increase in total Recurrent Revenue (€386.8 million), partly offset by a rise in total expenditure, which consists of Recurrent Expenditure (€36.5 million), Interest (-€2.7 million) and Capital Expenditure (-€13.2 million) (Table 1). At the end of July 2022, Central Government debt stood at €8,557.8 million, an increase of €709.4 million from 2021. The increase reported under Malta Government Stocks (€569.0 million) was the main contributor to the rise in debt. Higher debt was also reported under Treasury Bills (€96.3 million), the 62+ Malta Government Savings Bond (€93.8 million) and Euro coins issued in the name of the Treasury (€4.9 million). This increase in debt was partially offset by a decrease in Foreign Loans (€0.1 million). Finally, higher holdings by government funds in Malta Government Stocks resulted in a decrease in debt of €54.5 million.