The public deficit low to 357 million euros – the Observer

The deficit of general government fell to 357 million euros in October in comparison with the same month of 2015, according to a statement from the Ministry of Finance. The note refers to the behavior of the budget balance, public accounting, was due to an increase of 1.7% in revenue, a pace that exceeded the expenditure, which stood at 1.1%.

During the first ten months of 2016, the negative balance of the general government was 4.430 million euros, "representing 80,7%" of the deficit forecast for the year as a whole. In the same period, refers to the Ministry of Finance, the surplus in the primary balance excludes the interest charges of public debt, amounted to € 3.118 million euros, which corresponds to an improvement of eur 683 million compared to October 2015. The tax revenues grew by 0.6% and the revenue from Social Security contributions have advanced 3.6 percent.

For the growth of the collection of taxes, has contributed decisively to a greater revenue side of the local authorities and of the autonomous regions, with highlight to the IMT (municipal tax of transactions) that is growing by 13.7% up to October, with the recovery of the real estate market. Without this effect, the taxes which are revenues of the central government, grew by only 0.3%.

The total consolidated revenue, according to the summary of budget execution, however disclosed, "benefited from the positive evolution of indirect taxes", which grew by 5.3%, "and of contributions to social security". In direct taxes, where it has the most weight with the IRS, there has been a decrease of 5.9% in relation to October 2015.

the revenue generated by the tax on the income of natural persons went down by 5.4%. Still, this evolution represents a slowdown from the decline in this tax and that the Government has attributed to the reduction of the surcharge and the increase in refunds, which resulted from a reform of the IRS, introduced by the previous Executive, with the quotient family. Already the revenue of the tax which is levied on the profits of the companies, the IRC, decreased by 8.7%.

The complications of taxation in the tax on petroleum products, on the tobacco and on vehicles provided significant growth in the collection. The taxes on tobacco generated more by 22.6% of revenue compared to October of 2015, the ISP generated more of 18.7%, and the rise of the tax burden on the purchase of vehicles has led to an increase of 14.9%.

In expenditure, the Ministry of Finance says that it "has maintained a growth rate lower than provided for in the State Budget" for 2016. "In the Central Administration and Social Security, the expenses on the acquisition of goods and services fell to 2.8%", but the personnel expenses have increased by 3.6%. In social benefits, have increased, except those that are intended to finance the unemployment benefit, which recorded a decline of 14.6%, "in line with the reduction in the third quarter of the unemployment rate to 10.5%".

In comparison with October of 2015, the debt of non-financial general government, that is, "expense without the corresponding payment, including payments in arrears", decreased by 488 million euros. Despite this development, payments in arrears of public entities, that is, debts that are unpaid for more than 90 days, "were 1.161 million euros at the end of October, representing an increase of 13 million euros compared to the previous month". The National Health Service is the main responsible for this situation: you recorded a growth of 50 million euros in late payments the providers.

The expenses with the interest on the State debt also increased: 4.8% in year-onyear variation. The behavior of this item is justified by the rise in the cost of interest on the certificates of a Savings and Treasury, as well as those that are the result of commitments made by the State in the bonds. The investment shows a sharp fall. According to the synthesis, dropped from 12.7% during the first ten months of 2016 in relation to the level recorded in the same period of the previous year.

from The point of view of the Government, "the fourth quarter starts with prospects positive ahead of the budget, giving continuity to the good news concerning the economic growth in the third quarter, up 0.8% in chain". The data of the budget execution published on Thursday show the inputs and outputs, in the perspective of the treasury, and exclude the commitments made by the government reflected in the accounts, the budget in the national accounts, the one that matters under the european criteria.