Government capital expenditure down by €83 million in first eight months

Government’s capital expenditure between January and August fell by €83.1 million when compared to the same period last year, according to data released by the National Statistics Office (NSO).

Total capital expenditure was recorded at €188.3m.

This was the result of lower spending on EU-funded projects mainly those related to sewage and agriculture. Other declines were recorded in the external borders fund and the acquisition of property for public purposes.

The recurrent revenue in the same period was recorded at €2.33 billion, up from €2.2 billion in the same period last year.

The comparative increase of 4.5% was primarily the result of higher income tax and social security which increased by €77.2 million and €48.7 million respectively.

Increases were also recorded for VAT (€34m), licences, taxes and fines (€30.2m) and customs and excise duties (€10.4m), among others.

Major decreases were recorded in proceeds from grants (€100.4m).

Government’s Consolidated Fund registered a deficit of €79.1 million between January and August, with recurrent revenue registering an increase of €100.2m. Total expenditure went up by €38.3m.

This resulted in a positive change in the consolidated fund, which increased by €61.9 million.

Compared to the first eight months of last year, total expenditure stood at €2,401.8 million up from €2,363.4 million, mainly as a result of added outlays on recurrent expenditure which outweighed lower spending on capital expenditure and interest payments.

Recurrent expenditure stood at €2,063.7 million, up from €1,939.3 million last year; the major contributor to this increase were programmes and initiatives with a rise of €44.9 million.

The main developments in this category involved higher social security benefits (€22.4m), a rise in the social security state contribution (€14.0m), added outlays due to EU Presidency 2017 (€7.9m), CHOGM (€3.9m) and the provision of spare capacity electricity (€3.5m).

On the other hand, lower EU own resources were recorded (€7.2m). Increases were also registered in contributions to government entities (€41.6m), personal emoluments (€25.9m) and operational and maintenance expenses (€11.9m).

The interest component of the public debt servicing costs stood at €149.8 million, down from €152.7 million last year.

At the end of August 2016, Central Government Debt stood at €5.55 billion, up by €158.1m over the corresponding period last year.