By the end of September 2022, the Government’s Consolidated Fund reported a deficit of €467.8 million, the NSO said Friday.
In the first nine months of 2022, Recurrent Revenue amounted to €4,072.6 million, 11.7 per cent higher than the €3,646.9 million reported a year earlier. The largest increase was recorded under Value Added Tax (€184.2 million), followed by Income Tax (€144.9 million), Social Security (€95.9 million), Grants (€15.2 million), Licences, Taxes and Fines (€12.5 million), Reimbursements (€10.2 million) and Rents (€4.0 million).
The rise in revenue was partially offset by decreases under Dividends on Investment (€14.8 million), Miscellaneous Receipts (€9.9 million), Fees of Office (€9.1 million), Customs and Excise Duties (€4.6 million) and Central Bank of Malta (€2.8 million).
By the end of September 2022, total expenditure stood at €4,540.5 million, €2.8 million higher than the previous year. During the reference period, Recurrent Expenditure totalled €4,014.0 million, an increase of €45.1 million in comparison to the €3,968.9 million reported in the first nine months of 2021. The main contributor to this increase was a €28.8 million increase reported under Contributions to Government Entities. Furthermore, increases were also witnessed under Personal Emoluments (€19.8 million) and Programmes and Initiatives (€12.3 million). This rise in expenditure outweighed a decrease under Operational and Maintenance Expenses (€15.8 million).
The main developments in the Programmes and Initiatives category involved added outlays towards Energy support measures (€109.8 million), Economic stimulus payments (€47.7 million), Social security benefits (€40.0 million), Residential care in private homes (€11.2 million), Gas stabilisation fund (€10.0 million), Electricity distribution network (€10.0 million), Tax relief measures (€7.9 million) and Electoral commission activities (€6.0 million).
This rise in Programmes and Initiatives was partly offset by decreases under the Pandemic assistance schemes (€170.9 million) and EU own resources (€59.3 million). The interest component of the public debt servicing costs totalled €126.2 million, a decrease of €10.9 million when compared to the previous year.
By the end of September 2022, Government’s capital spending amounted to €400.2 million, €31.4 million lower than 2021. This decrease resulted from lower expenditure towards Road construction and improvements (€15.0 million), Property, plant and equipment (€8.5 million), Gozo Aquatic Centre (€8.0 million), Acquisitions of property for public purposes (€5.6 million), Maritime facilities (€4.1 million), Investments in physical assets (€3.9 million) and Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation (€3.2 million).
This decrease in Capital Expenditure was partially offset by increases under Film industry incentives (€10.4 million) and Ta’ Qali National Park (€6.8 million). The difference between total revenue and expenditure resulted in a deficit of €467.8 million being reported in the Government’s Consolidated Fund at the end of September 2022. Compared to the same period in 2021, there was a decrease in deficit of €422.9 million.
This difference mirrors an increase in total Recurrent Revenue (€425.7 million), partly offset by a rise in total expenditure, which consists of Recurrent Expenditure (€45.1 million), Interest (-€10.9 million) and Capital Expenditure (-€31.4 million). At the end of September 2022, Central Government debt stood at €8,516.6 million, an increase of €657.5 million from 2021. The increase reported under Malta Government Stocks (€435.9 million) was the main contributor to the rise in debt.
Higher debt was also reported under Treasury Bills (€266.0 million), Euro coins issued in the name of the Treasury (€5.1 million) and the 62+ Malta Government Savings Bond (€0.3 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 €49.6 million.