The state budget showed a strong overperformance of tax revenues, which were up by €1.899 billion, or 4.6% against the target, in January-August.

According to a statement from the Ministry of National Economy and Finance, the positive revenue performance was due to better income tax and VAT collections. At the same time, the primary surplus amounted to €7.567 billion euros, against a target of €3.316 billion.

In detail, the announcement of the Ministry of National Economy:

According to the state budget execution data, on a modified cash basis, for the period January–August 2024, there is a surplus in the state budget balance of €1,044 million against a target for a deficit of €2,774 million included for the corresponding period of 2024 in the 2024 Budget Report and a deficit of €92 million in the corresponding period of 2023. The primary balance on a modified cash basis was a surplus of € 7,567 million, against a target for a primary surplus of € 3,316 million and a primary surplus of € 5,596 million for the same period in 2023.

It is noted that part of the difference in tax revenue collections of € 647 million is counted in the fiscal outturn in 2023, while an amount related to the deferral of transfer payments to OCAs of € 1,854 million and expenditure on armament programs of € 634 million (i.e., a total of € 2,488 million) does not affect the outturn in fiscal terms.

Excluding the above amounts, the excess of the primary surplus of the state budget over the target for the January-August period amounts to €1,116 million.

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 outcome of the Central Administration and not to the general government as a whole, which includes the fiscal outcomes of the legal entities and the sub-sectors of the OTA and OKA.

Moreover, the above refers to the comparison with the targets of the 2024 Budget Report. During the preparation of the April 2024 Stability Programme, it has already been taken into account that an amount of €1.238 million on a fiscal basis, derived from an updated forecast of 2024 tax revenues, is directed to increased expenditures of the regular budget of the general government entities, as well as the national arm of the public investment programme.

In the period January-AAugust 2024, the amount of net revenues of the State Budget amounted to EUR 45,133 million, representing an increase of € 228 million or 0.51% compared to the target included for the corresponding period in the 2024 Budget's explanatory report, although the target of the explanatory report included: a) the collection in March of € 1,797 million. €1,797 million from the Recovery and Resilience Fund (RRF), the bulk of which, i.e., €1,687 million, was collected in December 2023, and an additional amount of €159 million was collected in January 2024, and b) the collection in the month of June of an amount of €1,350 million from the service concession contract for the financing, operation, maintenance, and exploitation of the Egnatia Motorway and the three (3) vertical roads, which was signed on 29.03.2024. The next steps of the process up to the payment of the price are expected to be completed in the coming months.

Total state budget revenues amounted to €49,631 million, up €269 million or 0.5% against the target.

More specifically, the revenues of the minor categories of the state budget are as follows:

Ι. Revenues of the category "Taxes" amounted to €43,002 million, increased by €1,899 million or 4.6% against the target included in the 2024 Budget Explanatory Report. 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. Therefore, the excess of tax revenues counted in the fiscal year 2024 amounts to €1.252 million.

Note that the above refers to the comparison against the budget targets. The April 2024 Stability Programme has already taken into account an increase in tax revenues of €1,238 million, directed to increased expenditure for the year 2024 of the regular budget of the General Government entities, as well as the national arm of the Public Investment Programme, as reflected in the Stability Programme.