At the end of October 2023, Central Government debt stood at €9,680.9 million, an increase of €942.9 million when compared to 2022, the NSO said Friday.
The increase reported under Malta Government Stocks (€1,401.2 million) was the main contributor to the rise in debt. Higher debt was also reported under Euro coins issued in the name of the Treasury (€4.6 million).
This increase in debt was partially offset by drops in Treasury Bills (€415.5 million) and the 62+ Malta Government Savings Bond (€23.5 million). Finally, higher holdings by government funds in Malta Government Stocks resulted in a decrease in debt of €23.9 million.
The NSO said that by the end of October 2023, the Government’s Consolidated Fund reported a deficit of €155.7 million.
Between January and October 2023, Recurrent Revenue amounted to €5,223.4 million, €694.9 million higher than the figure reported a year earlier. The largest increases were recorded under Income Tax (€427.8 million), Social Security (€91.2 million) and Grants (€62.4 million). On the other hand, the main drops in revenue were reported under Miscellaneous Receipts (€36.9 million) and Central Bank of Malta (€22.2 million).
Total expenditure by the end of October 2023 stood at €5,379.0 million, €202.2 million higher than the previous year.
During the reference period, Recurrent Expenditure totalled €4,659.4 million, an increase of €126.7 million compared to the €4,532.7 million reported at the end of October 2022. The main contributor to this increase was a €61.0 million rise reported under Contributions to Government Entities. Higher contributions were, among others, made towards the Malta Tourism Authority (€11.8 million), Resource Support and Services Ltd (€9.3 million) and Environment and Resources Authority (€5.1 million). Furthermore, increases were also recorded under Operational and Maintenance Expenses (€56.9 million) and Personal Emoluments (€46.4 million). Conversely, Programmes and Initiatives fell by €37.6 million.
The main developments in the Programmes and Initiatives category involved lower outlays towards Pandemic assistance schemes (€117.8 million) and EU own resources (€52.9 million). The drop in outlay was partially offset by increases witnessed under Social security benefits (€87.4 million), Medicines and surgical materials (€32.2 million) and Tal-Linja card (€17.0 million).
The interest component of the public debt servicing costs totalled €175.0 million, an increase of €30.0 million when compared to the previous year.
Between January and October 2023, Government’s capital spending amounted to €544.7 million, €45.5 million higher than 2022. This increase resulted from higher expenditure towards the REPowerEU initiative (€20.0 million), Property, plant and equipment (€18.2 million) and National Identity Management Systems (€6.6 million).
The difference between total revenue and expenditure resulted in a deficit of €155.7 million being reported in the Government’s Consolidated Fund at the end of October 2023. Compared to the same period in 2022, there was a decrease in deficit of €492.7 million. This difference mirrors an increase in total Recurrent Revenue (€694.9 million), partly offset by a rise in total expenditure, which consists of Recurrent Expenditure (€126.7 million), Interest (€30.0 million) and Capital Expenditure (€45.5 million).