The government deficit in the first eight months of this year grew to €345.1 million, an increase of €84.6 million over the same months last year, the NSO said today. It said recurrent revenue declined by €15.7 million, whereas a rise of €68.9 million was recorded in total expenditure

Recurrent revenue totalled €1,354.1 million. The decline of 1.1 per cent was the result of lower Customs and Excise duties (-€46.7 million) and Value Added Tax (-€21.4 million) which outweighed the higher returns from Income Tax (+€36.3 million) and Social Security (+€9.7 million). On the other hand, when compared to the same period in 2008, all the expenditure categories moved upwards, resulting in higher total expenditure of €68.9 million.

Reflecting higher spending in all its components, most notably in programmes and initiatives and personal emoluments, recurrent expenditure rose by €51.3 million, totalling €1,407.7 million.

The main contributors included higher social security benefits (+€30.2 million) and the shipyards' voluntary retirement schemes (+€19.6 million) which were partly offset by a fall in energy support measures (-€29.2 million).

The interest component of the public debt servicing costs for the period under review went up by €6.3 million and amounted to €135.2 million. I

In addition, Government's Capital Expenditure for the first eight months this year amounted to €156.2 million from €144.9 million last year, up by 7.8 per cent.

Government debt outstanding at the end of August amounted to €3,977.7 million, an increase of €456.3 million compared to August last year.

Short-term and long-term borrowing rose by €189.6 million and €273.1 million respectively, while foreign borrowing declined by €13.9 million. The euro coins issued in the name of the Maltese Treasury, which are considered as a currency liability pertaining to the Central Government, amounted to €36.5 million, €7.2 million more compared to the euro coin stock as at end August last year