Greek budget shows primary surplus of 3.798 billion euros in Jan-Aug
The General Accounting Office, in a report on budget execution, said that the general government deficit totaled 1.104 billion euros in the eight-month period, from a shortfall of 2.849 billion euros last year and a budget target for a deficit of 1.694 billion euros.
Net budget revenue totaled 30.765 billion euros, down 11.9 pct or 4.153 billion euros from targets, of which 1.724 billion were a shortfall in revenue from the transfer of ANFAs and SMPs (European central banks’ profits from Greek state bond holdings) and another 917 million euros from a shortfall in property taxes.
Regular budget net revenue totaled 28.699 billion euros, down 4.070 billion, or 12.4 pct from targets. Other direct taxes surpassed targets by 2.9 pct, tobacco taxes were 9.4 pct higher, vehicle registration duties were up 33.4 pct from targets, other consumption taxes surpassed targets by 4.7 pct and other non-tax revenue were up 8.2 pct in the January-August period.
On the other hand, income tax revenues fell short of targets by 8.6 pct, corporate tax revenue were down 18.3 pct from targets, special category income tax revenues were down 15.6 pct, VAT on oil products fell short by 15.2 pct and other VAT revenues were down 6.6 pct in the eight-month period.
Tax returns totaled 1.772 billion euros, down 250 million from targets. Public Investment Program revenue totaled 2.067 billion euros, down 83 million from targets.
In August, state budget net revenue totaled 3.890 billion euros, down 213 million from monthly target, while regular budget targets surpassed targets by 26 million euros to 3.859 billion. Tax returns totaled 226 million euros, up 67 million from targets.
State budget spending totaled 31.869 billion euros, down 4.744 billion from targets, while regular budget targets totaled 30.306 billion euros, down 3.216 billion from targets. Regular budget spending were down 6.6 pct compared with 2014, while Public Investment Program spending totaled 1.563 billion euros, down 1.527 billion from targets and down 1.745 billion euros compared with the same period last year.
