Scicluna says government finances performing better than expected

The government yesterday said its finances are on track and are in line with the projections laid down in the 2014 budget.

Citing the Central Government Finance figures for the January - July period, governmebt said these show that aside from outstanding payments due by Enemalta, both government revenue and expenditure are in line with the 2014 Budget projections.

"Indeed, on the revenue side, government finances are performing better than expected, increasing by as much as €38.8 million beyond what was forecasted," the statement said.

Finance minister Edward Scicluna pointed out that the cash flow shortfall in excise duty due by Enemalta will be made up for before the end of this year and accrued accordingly, adding that there is no effective increase in the central government deficit over last year.

Furthermore, he said that both income tax and social security contributions recorded an increase when compared to projections, with revenue from income tax increasing by €24.6 million while revenue from social security contributions recorded an increase of €14.2 million.

"This reflects the sustained generation of employment driven by a strong employment growth rate that is among the highest in the European Union. Revenue from other non-tax revenue sources were also broadly in line with projections."

Turning to expenditure, Scicluna noted that the total expenditure for the period was marginally below what was projected for the 2014 budget, arguing that the "positive performance" was mainly driven by lower-than projected expenditure on programmes and initiatives, operations and maintenance.

“The NSO’s figures continue to confirm that Government finances are in line with the budget estimates and Government is confident that we are on track with regards to reaching the deficit target for this year,” Scicluna said.

He added that it was "highly ironic" that the opposition’s shadow minister for finance Tonio Fenech, "under whose watch the country entered into Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP) twice in the space of a few years, and who left as his inheritance a public energy corporation on the brink of collapse, is now attempting to undermine the economic and fiscal successes this government has managed to achieve."

Scicluna said the opposition’s "wilful misinterpretation of published figures, coupled with its refusal to even recognise its shambolic legacy, far less accept responsibility for it, confirms that the Opposition has not yet learned from its gross economic and fiscal mismanagement, and lacks all credibility on economic and fiscal issues"