The government’s consolidated fund reported a deficit of €75.9 million by the end of January.
Recurrent revenue in the first month of the year increased by €3.3 million and amounted to €305.7 million. This reflected a 1.1% increase from the €302.4 million reported in revenue during the same period in 2019.
Increases were mainly recorded in customs and excise duties (€10.9 million), income tax (€4.4 million), grants (€2.2 million) and fees of office (€1.8 million).
Decreases were registered in social security (€9.8 million), VAT (€2.2 million), licences, taxes and fines (€2.1 million), reimbursements (€2.1 million) and miscellaneous receipts (€0.6 million).
Total expenditure by the end of January 2020 amounted to €381.6 million, a 6.8% increase from the same period in 2019.
Recurrent expenditure stood at €338.4 million, €19.2 million higher than the comparable amount registered in January 2019. The main contributor to this increase was a €14.8 million rise in programmes and initiatives. Reductions were observed in the social security state contribution (€11.3 million that also affects revenue) and provision to spare capacity – electricity (€3.5 million).
The interest component of the public debt servicing costs totalled €12.2 million, €0.7 million lower than in the same period in 2019.
Government’s capital spending amounted to €31 million, an increase of €5.7 million from 2019. The rise in outlay was largely due to increased expenditure reported on road construction and improvements (€4.4 million) and investment incentives (€3 million).
The difference between total revenue and expenditure resulted in a deficit of €75.9 million being reported in the Government’s Consolidated Fund, a €20.9 million rise from the deficit of €55 million witnessed during the same period in 2019.
The main driver of the difference was a higher reported increase in total expenditure, consisting of recurrent expenditure (€19.2 million), interest (-€0.7 million) and capital expenditure (€5.7 million), in comparison to the increase in recurrent revenue (€3.3 million).
By the end of January, central government debt stood at €5,392.7 million, a €21.9 million fall from the comparative month in 2019.
This was primarily the result of lower Malta government stocks (€83.3 million), while further drops were also reported in treasury bills (€22 million) and foreign loans (€0.1 million). On the other hand, there were increases recorded under the 62+ Malta Government Savings Bond (€97.3 million) and euro coins issued in the name of the treasury (€4.8 million).
Higher holdings by government funds in Malta Government Stocks also resulted in a decrease in debt of €18.6 million.