Deficit without extraordinary measures stood at 3.1%, says UTAO – publico

                 

                         
                     

                 

 
 

The budget deficit in 2015, excluding the extraordinary measures have been 3.1% of GDP. The accounts of unit technicians who gives support to Members (UTAO) were disclosed on Tuesday in a statement on national accounts for general government.

In the analysis that makes the UTAO concludes that “excluding operations extraordinary nature, the budget deficit in 2015 stood at 3.1% of GDP “and that the reduction compared to 2014 was 0.5 percentage points. However, alert, “despite the deficit have shown an improvement on that recorded in 2014, this was not sufficient to achieve the budgeted target and will not allow the closure of the excessive deficit procedure”.

For this happen, say the technicians, “would have been necessary for the overall general government deficit, including Banif, had set below the threshold of 3.0% of GDP.”

UTAO recalls that the deficit general government in national accounts amounted to 7.9 billion euros, settling at 4.4% of GDP. However, this figure is influenced by extraordinary transactions that had a negative impact of around EUR 2.3 billion, equivalent to about 1.3 percentage points of GDP. Conclusion, the deficit is 3.1%.

In addition to the Banif resolution operation, UTAO excludes extraordinary contribution income for the Single Fund Resolution (paid by banks in 2015, but that is referring to 2016). It is the exclusion of the contribution to the fund that could be the cause of the difference between the estimated deficit by the National Statistics Institute (3% of GDP) last week and the expected deficit now by UTAO (3.1%).

Already in 2014, recalls the UTAO, extraordinary operations worsened the deficit by 6.2 billion euros, an impact that essentially reflected the capitalization of the New Bank, amounting to 4.9 billion euros, the financial restructuring of the transport sector, which amounted to 1.2 billion euros. However, “overall, the extraordinary measures have contributed to worsen significantly over the deficit in 2014 than in 2015″.

Last week, the INE said that the budget deficit had been in 4, 4% of GDP in 2015 and, excluding the effect Banif, was the 3% of GDP. However, for lack of information, postponed to March 31 disclosure of the first notification of the Excessive Deficit Procedure to send to Brussels.

In the second half of April Eurostat will publish the budgetary results for 2015 of all euro countries, including Portugal, when the Government will send to the European Commission the Stability Programme and National Reform Programme, which was presented today by the Prime Minister. With Lusa