The country's public debt stood at almost €9.77 billion in July this year – an increase of €374 million compared to last year – while interest on the debt reached almost €148 million, an increase of €29 million, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said.
It said higher debt was attributed to foreign loans (€72 million) and Euro coins issued by the treasury (€4 million), but noted the increase was “partially offset” by drops in treasury bills (€307 million) and the ‘62+’ government savings bond (€26 million).
"Moreover, higher holdings by government funds in Malta Government Stocks resulted in a decrease in debt of €66 million," it said.
The NSO said the government’s consolidated fund reported a surplus of just over €60 million by the end of July.
The government’s consolidated fund essentially functions as its bank account, with the taxes collected deposited into it and being used for the government’s general spending.
The NSO said that by the end of the second quarter of this year, recurrent revenue – continuous forms of revenue – amounted to more than €4.09 billion, up €658 million compared to the same period the year before.
Total expenditure was also up on last year, however, standing at €4.03 billion – an increase of over €295 million.
“The difference between total revenue and expenditure resulted in a surplus of €60.3 million... whereas a year earlier a deficit of €302.4 million was registered”, the NSO said.
Spending on ‘programmes and initiatives’ rose by almost €212 million, while personal emoluments – salaries – increased by €60 million.
Spending on the former consisted of higher social security benefits (€107 million), the EU (€44 million) and restructuring Malta’s national airline (€17 million).
Operational and maintenance expenses rose by almost €15 million and contributions to government entities by just under €8 million.
The largest continuous revenue increases were income tax (€356 million), VAT (almost €164 million) and social security (€87 million).
Income tax accounted for 41% of revenue while VAT and social security accounted for around 20% each.
At the same time, customs and excise duties revenues dropped by over €17 million, while ‘sales – others’ reduced by €7 million, and rents brought in €2 million less than the same time last year.