State’s debts to private sector cut by 11 percent
Alternate Finance Minister Christos Staikouras said on Monday that the state’s outstanding debts to the private sector were trimmed to 7.3 billion euros from 8.2 billion euros in the first four months of the year, a reduction of 11 percent.
In total 2.9 billion euros in has entered the real economy since the beginning of the year, Staikouras said.
Outstanding tax returns reduced by 62 percent in April to 278 million, from 724 million in December 2012, he said.
Since December, the Ministry has satisfied 80 percent of applications by ministries for payments worth about 4.2 billion euros, Staikouras said. A further 1.1 billion euros in funding applications is being evaluated.
In the first five months of the year, more than 10,300 pension lump sums were paid out to civil servants, about 70 percent of of the Army Pension Fund and military hospital’s outstanding debts were paid as well as 50 percent of the National Health System’s (ESY) debts (about 567 million euros from a total debt of 1.1 billion euros).
Staikouras said the state would continue «to fulfill its obligations and improve cash flow to the real economy» despite bureaucratic problems arising from the involvement of several state institutions in the process. The ultimate aim, he said. was to to aver the creation of a «new generation of outstanding debts.”
