ECONOMY

July revenue rise not enough

July produced an upturn in state revenues, aided by the order to tax offices to stop making payments last Thursday and Friday, but even so the government will need to cash in about 5.75 billion euros by the end of the year to meet its budget targets.

Provisional figures for July showed on Wednesday that budget revenues increased by 3 percent compared with the same month last year, topping 5 billion euros for only the second time this year, after January.

Cash receipts in the first seven months of the year came to 26.83 billion euros, against a target of 30.1 billion, meaning that revenues are lagging by 3.3 billion euros.

The Finance Ministry estimates that this shortfall can be covered in the coming months, expecting the new tax measures to bear fruit, as provided by the implementation law for the midterm fiscal plan for the 2011-15 period. It is hoping to save the budget and keep its deficit to within the target of 7.5 percent of gross domestic product through the solidarity levy, the occupation tax and the settlement of outstanding tax cases.

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