By the end of April 2022, Government has already accumulated a deficit exceeding 388 million euro, data released by the NSO has shown.
In the first four months of 2022, Recurrent Revenue amounted to €1,595.3 million, 16.5 per cent higher than the €1,369.7 million reported a year earlier. The largest increase was recorded under Income Tax (€82.4 million), followed by Value Added Tax (€53.0 million), Grants (€42.3 million) and Social Security (€25.3 million).
By the end of April 2022, total expenditure stood at €1,983.9 million, 1.6 per cent higher than the previous year. During the reference period, Recurrent Expenditure totalled €1,769.7 million, an increase of €35.9 million in comparison to the €1,733.8 million reported by the end of April 2021. The main contributor to this increase was a €46.2 million increase reported under Programmes and Initiatives. Furthermore, an increase was also witnessed under Contributions to Government Entities (€3.3 million). This rise in expenditure outweighed decreases under Operational and Maintenance Expenses (€10.9 million) and Personal Emoluments (€2.6 million).
The main developments in the Programmes and Initiatives category involved added outlays towards Economic stimulus payments (€48.1 million), Tax relief measures (€25.7 million), Assistance to help the elderly live independently (€13.7 million), Social security benefits (€11.4 million), Residential care in private homes (€7.2 million) and Gas stabilisation fund (€5.1 million). This rise in Programmes and Initiatives was partly offset by decreases under the Pandemic assistance schemes (€46.9 million) and Hospital concession agreements (€20.7 million).
The interest component of the public debt servicing costs totalled €54.7 million, a decrease of €4.9 million when
compared to the previous year.
This means that after four months the country’s deficit stands at €388.7 million.
