January-May primary surplus beats target
Greece’s central government attained a primary budget surplus of 1.84 billion euros in the first five months of the year, beating its target by 792 million euros thanks to lower spending.
The central government surplus excludes the budgets of social security organizations and local administration.
It is different from the figure monitored by Greece’s EU/IMF lenders, but indicates the state of the country’s finances.
The government’s target was for a primary budget surplus – which excludes debt-servicing costs – of 1.05 billion euros for the first five months of the year.
Net tax revenue came in at 17.92 billion euros, 3 million euros below target, while spending reached 19.17 billion euros, below a target of 19.96 billion euros.
The government is aiming for a general government primary budget surplus of 1.9 percent of gross domestic product this year, based on its medium-term fiscal strategy plan.
The bailout target is for a primary surplus of 1.75 percent of GDP.
[Reuters]
