At €29.276 billion, tax revenues increased by €1.336 billion, or 4.8%, against the target included in the 2024 Budget report, according to provisional data released by the Ministry of Finance.

According to the provisional data on the implementation of the state budget, on a modified cash basis, for the period January–June 2024, there is a deficit in the state budget balance of €2,261 million, compared to a target deficit of €3,616 million included for the corresponding period of 2024 in the 2024 Budget Report and a deficit of €2,462 million in the corresponding period of 2023. 

The primary balance on a modified cash basis was a surplus of €2,900 million, against a target for a primary surplus of €1,204 million and a primary surplus of €2,116 million for the same period in 2023. Note that part of the difference in the primary surplus against the target in cash terms is not counted in the 2024 primary outcome in fiscal terms. Indicatively, an amount of €159 million related to Recovery and Resilience Fund revenues does not affect the outcome in budgetary terms, while a significant part of the difference in tax revenue collections of €647 million is counted in the 2023 budgetary outcome. Therefore, the primary outcome in budgetary terms differs from the outcome in cash terms. It should be noted that the above refers to the primary result of the Central Administration and not to the general government as a whole, which includes the fiscal results of the legal entities and the sub-sectors of the OTAs and OKA.

ΝΕΤ PROFITS

In the period January–June 2024, the amount of net revenues in the state budget amounted to €31,461 million, showing a decrease of €291 million. €291 million, or 0.9%, compared to the target included for the corresponding period in the 2024 Budget's explanatory report, as the target of the explanatory report had included: a) the collection in March of an amount of €1,797 million from the Recovery and Resilience Fund (RDF), most of which, i.e., €1,687 million, was received from the State budget of the Republic of Moldova. €1,350 million from the concession contract for the financing, operation, maintenance, and exploitation of the Egnatia Motorway and the three (3) vertical roads, which was signed on March 29, 2024, and the next steps of the process until the payment of the price are expected to be completed in the coming months. 

TAX REVENUES

Tax revenues amounted to €29,276 million, up by €1,336 million, or 4.8%, against the target included in the 2024 Budget's Explanatory Memorandum. This over-execution stems from the better performance of the previous year's personal and corporate income taxes collected in instalments up to the end of February 2024 (note that an estimated amount of €647 million is counted in the fiscal outturn for the year 2023), as well as the better performance in the collection of the current year's taxes (VAT, NIT, etc.).

Revenue refunds amounted to €3,224 million, down €119 million from the target (€3,343 million).

Public Investment Programme (PIP) revenue amounted to €2,788 million, up €776 million from the target (€2,012 million).

The exact breakdown between the revenue categories of the state budget will be made when the final statement is issued.

In particular, in June 2024, total net state budget revenues amounted to €4,577 million, down by €1,763 million. € 1,777.777 million compared to the monthly target, mainly due to the fact that the target of the report included the collection in June of the price of the concession contract for the Egnatia Odos motorway and its three (3) vertical roads, amounting to €1,350 million, which is expected to be collected in the coming months, as mentioned above.

Tax revenue amounted to €4,561 million, up €5 million, or 0.1%, against the target.

Revenue refunds amounted to €612 million, down by €61 million from the target (€673 million).

Revenue from the Public Investment Budget (PIB) amounted to €208 million, down €320 million from the target (€528 million).

EXPENDITURES

State Budget expenditure for the period January–June 2024 amounted to €33,722 million, down by €1,647 million compared to the target (€35,368 million), which has been included in the 2024 Budget Report. They have also increased, compared to the corresponding period in 2023, by €385 million.

On the Ordinary Budget part, payments are lower than the target by €1,776 million. This development is mainly due to the slippage of the transfer payments to CSOs by €1,126 million, as well as expenditure related to the armament programmes of €384 million. In the opposite direction, i.e., increasing compared to the target, transfers to other legal entities increased by €309 million.  €162 million from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport as a grant to transport operators (OASA, OASTH, and OSE) and €207 million from the Ministry of Health as a grant to the National Central Health Procurement Authority (HCPA) to cover the cost of supplying medicines for the needs of the hospitals of the NHS and the Papageorgiou General Hospital. Finally, interest payments increased by €369 million compared to the target.

Payments on the investment expenditure side amounted to €5,160 million, an increase of €129 million compared to the target, as the MFF target was exceeded.