Substantially lower deficit recorded in August
The government’s consolidated fund reported a deficit of €753.2 million at the end of August, €333 million lower compared to the previous year, according to the National Statistics Office. The NSO said recurrent revenue in the first eight months of 2021 amounted to €3,221.5 million, 27.6% more than the €2,524.8 million reported a year earlier. The largest increase was recorded under income tax (€331.4 million). By the end of August, total expenditure stood at €3,974.7 million, 10.1% more than the previous year. Recurrent Expenditure totalled €3,474.3 million, a rise of €509.2 million over the €2,965.1 million reported by the end of August 2020. The main contributor to this increase was a €433.2 million rise reported under programmes and initiatives. The largest development in this category was related to the COVID-19 pandemic assistance scheme (€257.4 million), which includes the COVID-19 business assistance programme. The interest component of the public debt servicing costs totalled €123.1 million, an increase of €1.8 million when compared to the previous year. Government’s capital spending amounted to €377.3 million, €147.3 million lower than in 2020. The drop largely...