The Finance Ministry has welcomed official figures showing that the government had a surplus of €10.2 million in the first ten months of this year.
"The difference between total revenue and expenditure resulted in a surplus of €10.2 million being reported in the government’s Consolidated Fund by the end of October 2019, a €34.4 million rise from the deficit of €24.3 million witnessed in the same period in 2018," the National Statistics Office said.
It reflected an increase in recurrent revenue whilst the increase in expenditure was contained within established budgetary parameters.
Recurrent revenue increased by €444.1 million as a result of tax revenue.
"This positive result reflects the robust economic growth exhibited by the Maltese economy in recent years which is expected to be sustained in the coming years as corroborated by the latest European Commission and international credit rating agencies’ forecasts," the ministry said.
It noted that non-tax revenue also increased with the main contributor being a €121.6 million increase in grants.
Recurrent expenditure increased by €342.6 million between January and October with some of the biggest increases being in free school transport, the free childcare centres, health-related expenditure including the free medicine and treatments for patients suffering from cancer, social expenditure and expenditure on elderly care as well as additional expenditure to enhance the environment and solid waste management.
Capital expenditure increased by €78.4 million with the main contributors being the upgrading of the road infrastructure and improvements to buildings and equipment.
Interest on Government expenditure decreased by €11.3 million or 6.4 per cent during the same period.
“These positive developments in public finances for the first ten months augur well for the attainment of a fiscal surplus for the fourth consecutive year in 2019, sustaining the consistent decrease in the debt-to-GDP ratio attained by this Government,” Finance Minister Edward Scicluna said.