Primary surplus at 6.945 billion euros in 11-month period
Greek primary surplus climbed to 6.945 billion euros against a target of 4.715 billion euros in the January-November 2019 period, according to finance ministry data on Monday.
Total state budget revenue in the 11 months amounted to 52.7 billion euros, up by 346 million euros or 0.7 pct compared with the target.
In November, total net budget revenues totaled 5.062 billion euros, up by 285 million euros from the monthly target.
In the same month, total budget expenditure amounted to 4.045 billion euros, down by 385 million euros from the monthly target, mainly due to the under-execution of the Public Investment Program by 71 million euros and the delay in the November returns to local governments, which were paid at the beginning of December. This amounted to 187 million euros.
Commenting on the numbers, Deputy Finance Minister Theodoros Skylakakis said tax revenues and the budget surplus exceeded targets for another month and announced that the government will make additional sums available for the heating allowance, so as to cover all applications by eligible households, which have so far exceed 500,000.
The amount budgeted for the current year, which was higher compared with last year, amounted to 68 million euros.
Based on the applications submitted, an additional 5-10 million euros will be required, which will be used to cover all the beneficiaries' applications. This means that the total amount of the subsidy for heating oil this year could reach 78 million euros.
The General Accounting Office expressed optimism over the particularly positive messages about the course of the Greek economy, which are reflected in the growth rate of revenues.
As Skylakakis announced, tax revenues in November exceeded the target by 117 million euros. The surplus also exceeded budget forecasts for another month.
[ANA-MPA]
