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General government deficit at €72.4 mln in Q3 2020

27/11/2020 14:14

On the basis of the preliminary data on the General Government accounts for July-September 2020, total revenue amounted to €2,216 mn, while total expenditure reached €2,288.4 mln, resulting in a deficit of €72.4 mln as compared to a surplus of €382.1 mln in the third quarter of the previous year.

The main categories of revenue for July-September 2020 were taxes on production and imports €819.7 mln (-9.8% compared to the third quarter of 2019), of which net VAT was €544.9 mln (-5.3%), taxes on income and wealth €544.6 mln (-23.5%) and social contributions €578.7 mln (-2.5%). Revenue from the sale of goods and services amounted to €178.9 mn registering an increase of 0.1% as compared to the corresponding period of 2019.

The main categories of expenditure for July-September 2020 were social transfers €627.0 mln (-1.2% compared to the corresponding period of 2019) and compensation of employees (including imputed social contributions and pensions of civil servants) €665.7 mln (+3.7%). The capital account recorded an expenditure of €155.8 mln (€126,0 mln capital investments and €29.8 mln capital transfers) as compared to €151.7 mln during the corresponding quarter of 2019 (€131.2 mln capital investments and €20.5 mln capital transfers) registering an increase of 2.7%. Intermediate consumption reached €394.7 mln (+23.0% compared to the corresponding period of the previous year). Subsidies increased by €164.5 mln and amounted to €174.7 mln, compared to €10.2 mln in the corresponding quarter of 2019.

The increase in expenditure and the decrease in revenue for July-September 2020 are mainly due to the measures taken to support enterprises and the suspension of various sectors of the economy, respectively, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Increased amounts in specific categories of revenue and expenditure are partly attributed to the implementation of the second stage of the National Health System as of 01.06.2020.