The government’s deficit for 2022 amounted to €982.2 million, an improvement of €158.6 million over that recorded in the previous year.

Debt at the end of June, stood at €9,161.1 million, 50.7% of the gross domestic product.

This equates to an increase of €565.7 million over the same quarter in 2022, largely reflected in central government debt, which amounted to €9,159.1 million.

The National Statistics Office said on Monday that when comparing 2022 to 2021, total revenue increased by €445.8 million, while total expenditure increased by €287.2 million.

On September 29, Malta submitted the government deficit and debt levels for 2019-2022 to the EU, as part of the excessive deficit procedure notification.

Quarterly non-financial accounts

Between April and June this year, total revenue stood at €1,729.9 million, an increase of €235.3 million when compared to the same quarter in 2022.

This was mainly brought about by increases in current taxes on income and wealth (€149.9 million), market output (€69.2 million), and net social contributions receivable (€22.8 million).

Total expenditure in the second quarter of 2023 amounted to €1,734.3 million, an increase of €150.8 million over the same quarter in 2022.

The largest increase was recorded in social benefits and social transfers in kind (€46.7 million), followed by intermediate consumption (€43.9 million), subsidies payable (€29.7 million), gross capital formation (€15 million) and property income payable (€10.8 million). These increases were partially offset by decreases in current transfers payable (€14.7 million).

Adjustments were made to the government’s consolidated fund data to shift to accrual-based accounts.

In the second quarter of 2023, these adjustments brought about a decrease of €118.6 million to the consolidated fund deficit.

Quarterly financial accounts

In relation to financial transactions in assets, during the second quarter, currency and deposits and other accounts receivable increased by €606.4 million and €160.7 million respectively, while equity and investment fund shares increased by €1.3 million.

Considering the financial transactions in liabilities, the highest increase was recorded in other accounts payable (€875.1 million), followed by short-term debt securities (€32.4 million) and long-term loans (€1.7 million).

In contrast, decreases were registered in long-term debt securities (€137.6 million) and currency and deposits (€17.4 million).

Quarterly debt

At the end of June, general government debt stood at €9,161.1 million, or 50.% of the gross domestic product.

This equates to an increase of €565.7 million over the same quarter in 2022, largely reflected in central government debt, which amounted to €9,159.1 million.

Currency and deposits stood at €455.1 million, a decrease of €112.1 million over June 2022.

This includes euro coins issued in the name of the Treasury, considered a liability of central government and the 62+ Malta Government Savings Bond, the latter amounting to €354.7 million.

Long-term debt securities increased by €775.1 million, while short-term debt securities decreased by €107.8 million, respectively. In addition, long-term loans increased by €10.4 million and short-term loans recorded a €0.1 million increase. Local government debt stood at €2 million.

General government guaranteed debt amounted to €1,164.1 million at the end of June, equivalent to 6.4% of GDP. There was a decrease of €26.4 million when compared to the second quarter of 2022.