Updated 4.04pm - Added Finance Ministry statement
The government’s consolidated fund registered a deficit of €63.6 million between January and September.
Recurrent revenue registered an increase of €112.7 million, whereas total expenditure went up by €14.7 million compared to the same period last year.
In January-September, recurrent revenue was recorded at €2,625.6 million, up from €2,512.9 million last year. The comparative increase of 4.5 per cent was primarily the result of higher income tax and social security which increased by €101.9 million and €52.3 million respectively.
Conversely, major decreases were recorded in proceeds from grants (€100.1 million).
Compared to January-September last year, total expenditure stood at €2,689.3 million up from €2,674.6 million, mainly as result of added outlays on recurrent expenditure which outweighed lower spending on capital expenditure and interest payments.
Recurrent expenditure stood at €2,313.4 million from €2,197.9 million last year. This was due to higher outlays on all components of recurrent expenditure whereby contributions to government entities went up by €46.9 million and programmes and initiatives increased by €29.7 million.
The interest component of the public debt servicing costs stood at €170.2 million, down from €173.4 million last year.
Government’s capital expenditure witnessed a decline of €97.6 million, and was recorded at €205.7 million. This was mainly the result of lower spending on EU funded projects.
At the end of September 2016, central government debt stood at €5,529.2 million, up by €122.9 million over the corresponding period last year. This was the result of higher Malta Government Stocks and Treasury Bills, which added €147 million and €17.2 million respectively.
On the other hand, domestic loans with commercial banks and foreign loans went down by €56.4 million and €10.5 million respectively. Lower holdings by government funds in Malta Government Stocks resulted in an increase in debt of €20.1 million.
'We are on track' - Finance Minister
In a statement, the Finance Ministry noted that figures were in line with its projections for the current year.
Finance Minister Edward Scicluna noted, “We are monitoring closely the deficit for this year as we have done over the last four years. We are pleased to see that we are still on track to reach our financial and fiscal targets.”