By the end of June 2024, the Government’s Consolidated Fund reported a deficit of €89.8 million while the debt reached close to €10 billion, the NSO said Friday.
Between January and June 2024, Recurrent Revenue amounted to €3,404.7 million, €484.0 million higher than the figure reported a year earlier. The largest increases were recorded under Income Tax (€325.6 million), Value Added Tax (€102.4 million) and Social Security (€75.1 million). On the other hand, the main drops in revenue were reported under Customs and Excise Duties (€20.5 million), Grants (€17.9 million) and Miscellaneous Receipts (€12.7 million).
Total expenditure till June 2024 stood at €3,494.5 million, €315.2 million higher than the previous year.
During the reference period, Recurrent Expenditure totalled €3,067.4 million, an increase of €303.4 million compared to the €2,764.0 million reported the year prior. The main contributor to this increase was a €232.7 million rise reported under Programmes and Initiatives. Further increases were also recorded under Personal Emoluments (€51.2 million), Contributions to Government Entities (€14.9 million) and Operational and Maintenance Expenses (€4.5 million). The main developments in the Programmes and Initiatives category involved higher outlays towards Social security benefits (€94.0 million), the EU own resources (€45.5 million) and Tax relief measure (€28.1 million).
The interest component of the public debt servicing costs totalled €126.9 million, an increase of €26.9 million when compared to the previous year.
From January to June 2024, Government’s capital spending amounted to €300.2 million, €15.2 million less than the comparative period in 2023. This decrease resulted from lower expenditure towards Investment incentives (€21.6 million), the REPowerEU initiative (€20.0 million) and Film industry incentives (€6.2 million). The drop was partially offset by increases reported under Road construction and improvements (€22.1 million) and Enhancing uptake of electric vehicles (€18.6 million).
The difference between total revenue and expenditure resulted in a deficit of €89.8 million being reported in the Government’s Consolidated Fund at the end of June 2024, whereas a year earlier a deficit of €258.6 million was registered. This difference mirrors an increase in total Recurrent Revenue (€484.0 million), partly offset by a rise in total expenditure, which consists of Recurrent Expenditure (€303.4 million), Interest (€26.9 million) and Capital Expenditure (-€15.2 million).
At the end of June 2024, Central Government debt stood at €9,981.1 million, an increase of €810.3 million when compared to 2023. The increase reported under Malta Government Stocks (€1,216.7 million) was the main contributor to the rise in debt. Higher debt was also reported under Foreign Loans (€71.9 million) and Euro coins issued in the name of the Treasury (€4.0 million). This increase in debt was partially offset by drops in Treasury Bills (€391.1 million) and the 62+ Malta Government Savings Bond (€26.0 million). Moreover, higher holdings by government funds in Malta Government Stocks resulted in a decrease in debt of €65.1 million.
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