The budget shows a primary surplus of €3.25 billion in the January-April quarter, against a target for a surplus of €631 million, as almost €1 billion of the first installment of house ownership tax (ENFIA) was collected earlier than planned.
According to the preliminary data available for the execution of the State Budget on a modified cash basis, the State Budget balance for the period of January–April 2024 presented a deficit of €279 million, against a target of a deficit of €2,699 million that has been incorporated for the same period of 2024 in the 2024 Budget introductory report and a deficit of €789 million for the same period of 2023.
The State Budget Primary Balance on a modified cash basis amounted to a surplus of €3,253 million, against the primary surplus target of €631 million and the primary surplus of €2,443 million performed at the same period of the previous year. It is noted that the first installment of ENFIA was collected in April, while it was estimated to be collected in May and to be €940 million.
Additionally, an important part of the difference in the primary balance surplus against the target, in cash terms, is not counted in the 2024 primary balance in fiscal terms. Indicatively, €159 million relating to Recovery and Resilience Facility revenues (RRF) do not affect the outcome in fiscal terms, while a significant part of the difference in tax revenues of €647 million is accounted for in the fiscal result of 2023. Therefore, the primary balance in fiscal terms differs significantly in comparison to the result in cash terms. It is pointed out that the aforementioned concerns the primary balance of the central administration and not the whole of the general government, which also includes the fiscal results of legal entities and the sub-sectors of LGs and SSFs.
For the period of January–April 2024, state budget net revenues amounted to €22,508 million, showing an increase of 2,311 million euros, or 11.4%, against the target of the corresponding period, which is included in the 2024 budget introductory report. Despite the fact that the target of the budget introductory report includes the amount of €1,797 million from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the biggest part of it, namely €1,687 million, has been collected in December 2023, and an additional amount of €159 million has been collected in January 2024.
Accordingly, with the exception of the above amount, the net revenues are showing an overperformance of €3,949 million, or 21.5%, against the target. This increase is mainly due to: a) the increased tax revenues by €2,155 million after deducting tax refunds; and b) the increased PIB revenues by €1,150 million. Tax revenues amounted to €20,368 million, €2,203 million, or 12.1% higher than the target, which is included in the 2024 Budget introductory report. This better-than-expected performance is mostly due to: a) collecting the first installment of ENFIA in April, which was supposed to arrive in May and was worth about €940 million; and b) collecting more of the previous year's income taxes from individuals and businesses until the end of February 2024 (an estimated €647 million is included in the fiscal result of 2023), as well as better performance in collecting this year's taxes (VAT, excise taxes, etc.).
