The deficit in the first quarter of the year totalled €43 million, down from €44.6 million in the same period last year, figures released by the National Statistics Office show.

Revenue amounted to €638.3 million, an increase of €65.7 million over the corresponding quarter in 2010. The main contributors were taxes on income and wealth (€47.9 million), social contributions (€10.9 million) and taxes on production and imports (€5.6 million).

The figures indicate the financial performance of both the central and local government.

They show that total expenditure in the first quarter stood at €681.3 million. The comparative rise of €64.1 million, compared to last year, was the result of higher social benefits and social transfers in kind (€30.3 million), intermediate consumption (€26.2 million), property income (€15.1 million) and compensation of employees (€6.2 million).

Hikes were registered in short- and long-term loans, mainly on account of loans granted to the national airline (€26.4 million) and to Greece (€20 million). These were outweighed by declines in currency and deposits and shares and other equity of €25.2 million and €7.4 million, respectively.

General government debt outstanding at the end of March grew by €346 million from the comparable period last year and amounted to €4,397.7 million. Central government debt went up by €345.9 million while local government debt edged up by €200,000.