Malta’s deficit reaches €388m in April 2022

By the end of April 2022, the Government’s Consolidated Fund reported a deficit of €388.7 million

In the first four months of 2022, Recurrent Revenue amounted to €1,595.3 million, 16.5 per cent higher than the €1,369.7 million reported a year earlier. The largest increase was recorded under Income Tax (€82.4 million), followed by Value Added Tax (€53.0 million), Grants (€42.3 million), Social Security (€25.3 million), Customs and Excise Duties (€14.7 million), Licences, Taxes and Fines (€7.4 million), Central Bank of Malta (€7.2 million), Dividends on Investment (€3.1 million), Rents (€2.9 million) and Reimbursements (€0.8 million).

The rise in revenue was partially offset by decreases under Fees of Office (€7.9 million) and Miscellaneous Receipts (€5.8 million).

By the end of April 2022, total expenditure stood at €1,983.9 million, 1.6 per cent higher than the previous year.

During the reference period, Recurrent Expenditure totalled €1,769.7 million, an increase of €35.9 million in comparison to the €1,733.8 million reported by the end of April 2021. The main contributor to this increase was a €46.2 million increase reported under Programmes and Initiatives.

Furthermore, an increase was also witnessed under Contributions to Government Entities (€3.3 million).

This rise in expenditure outweighed decreases under Operational and Maintenance Expenses (€10.9 million) and Personal Emoluments (€2.6 million).

The main developments in the Programmes and Initiatives category involved added outlays towards Economic stimulus payments (€48.1 million), Tax relief measures (€25.7 million), Assistance to help the elderly live independently (€13.7 million), Social security benefits (€11.4 million), Residential care in private homes (€7.2 million) and Gas stabilisation fund (€5.1 million).

This rise in Programmes and Initiatives was partly offset by decreases under the Pandemic assistance schemes (€46.9 million) and hospital concession agreements (€20.7 million).

The interest component of the public debt servicing costs totalled €54.7 million, a decrease of €4.9 million when compared to the previous year.

By the end of April 2022, Government’s capital spending amounted to €159.5 million, €1.0 million higher than 2021.

This increase resulted from higher expenditure towards Investment incentives (€3.5 million), Property, plant and equipment (€3.2 million) and Ta’ Qali National Park (€3.0 million). This rise in Capital Expenditure was partially offset by decreases under Acquisition of property for public purposes (€4.9 million) and Gozo Aquatic Centre (€3.7 million).