Tables
Tables
Methodological Notes
1. Data in this news release is compiled in order to provide users with regular up-to-date information on the Consolidated Fund of Government. Data are sourced as follows:
i. Revenue and Expenditure, and Public Debt Servicing → The Consolidated Fund, the transactions of which are consolidated at the Treasury.
ii. Central Government Debt (excluding EBUs and Local Councils) → Central Bank of Malta and the Treasury.
All allocations provided from the Consolidated Fund are either authorised by Parliament under an Appropriation Act, or are permanently appropriated by Parliament under other relevant legislation. On the other hand, the Treasury Clearance Fund contains all those funds and accounts the expenses in respect of which are initially defrayable out of public funds and are eventually repayable from the Consolidated Fund or other sources.
2. In this release Revenue and Expenditure categories are recorded in accordance with their presentation in the 2024 Financial Estimates.
3. This news release follows the guidelines set out in the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010) Manual on Government Deficit and Debt. Therefore, the difference between the recurrent revenue and expenditure as listed in Table 1 is essentially the cash-based position as far as the Central Government’s Consolidated Fund is concerned. In this respect, financial transactions, such as proceeds from loans, proceeds from sale of financial assets, and revenue from other accounts of Government are not taken into consideration. Likewise, direct loan repayments, contributions to sinking funds, acquisition of equity, as well as transfers into other accounts of Government, are excluded from the total expenditure.
4. The debt position includes the actual debt which is held by Government. On the other hand, any investments made by Government in its own funds are excluded from the total debt. As from December 2007, the Euro coins issued in the name of the Treasury are considered as a currency liability pertaining to the Central Government.
5. The data contained in this release is subject to revision. For an updated time-series which includes past data, please refer to the Statistical Indicators for this domain.
6. The Enhanced Economic Governance package adopted by the European Parliament and Council in November 2011 included requirements on the collection and dissemination of fiscal data, through the Council Directive 2011/85/EU. The requirements in the government finance statistics domain included a methodological reconciliation table (showing the transition between monthly data used for national policy purposes and ESA-quarterly data used to produce national accounts and EU fiscal surveillance).
a. Reconciliation Table
b. ESA 2010 Glossary.
7. Data on Government Expenditure by the Classification of Functions of Government (COFOG) classifies government expenditure data by the purpose for which the funds are used. COFOG data in Table 3 refers to the total expenditure of the Consolidated Fund. Data in this release does not align with that published in the Expenditure of General Government Sector by Function News Release, which is compiled by the NSO in line with the ESA 2010 methodology on an annual basis with a delay of one year. The functions are in line with the COFOG classifications as published in the Government Finance Statistics Manual 2001 (ISBN 1-58906-061-X).
8. Tables 4 and 5 present the Consolidated Fund year to date in ESA 2010 codes according to the EU Council Directive 85/2011 requirements.
9. More information relating to this news release may be accessed at:
Statistical Concepts
Statistical Database
10. A detailed news release calendar is available online.
11. For guidance on access and re-use of data please visit our dedicated webpage.
12. For further assistance send your request through our online request form.
Government Finance Data: January-August 2024
- By the end of August 2024, Government’s Consolidated Fund registered a surplus of €98.6 million.
- Compared to the previous year, recurrent revenue and total expenditure increased by €693.4 million and €504.6 million, respectively. The increase in recurrent revenue outweighed that in expenditure leading to a positive change in the Government’s Consolidated Fund by €188.8 million.
- The largest rise in revenue was recorded under Income Tax (€346.0 million), while Programmes and Initiatives (€284.5 million) reported the biggest increase among the expenditure categories.
- By the end of August 2024, Central Government Debt totalled €10,050.4 million, €847.3 million higher than the corresponding month in 2023.
Government Finance Data: January-August 2024
Government Finance Data: January-August 2024
Between January and August 2024, Recurrent Revenue amounted to €4,851.0 million, €693.4 million higher than the figure reported a year earlier. The largest increases were recorded under Income Tax (€346.0 million), Value Added Tax (€174.3 million) and Social Security (€100.3 million). On the other hand, the main drops in revenue were reported under Sales – Others (€6.0 million), Rents (€5.8 million) and Reimbursements (€0.6 million).
Total expenditure till August 2024 stood at €4,752.4 million, €504.6 million higher than the previous year.
During the reference period, Recurrent Expenditure totalled €4,162.5 million, an increase of €473.7 million compared to the €3,688.8 million reported the year prior. The main contributor to this increase was a €284.5 million rise reported under Programmes and Initiatives. Further increases were also recorded under Personal Emoluments (€83.7 million), Contributions to Government Entities (€81.4 million) and Operational and Maintenance Expenses (€24.2 million). The main developments in the Programmes and Initiatives category involved higher outlays towards Social security benefits (€114.5 million), National airline restructuring assistance (€50.1 million) and EU own resources (€44.6 million).
The interest component of the public debt servicing costs totalled €173.2 million, an increase of €40.0 million when compared to the previous year.
From January to August 2024, Government’s capital spending amounted to €416.7 million, €9.1 million less than the comparative period in 2023. This decrease resulted from lower expenditure towards the REPowerEU initiative (€20.0 million), National airline restructuring assistance (€15.0 million) and Investment incentives (€8.7 million). The drop was partially offset by increases reported under Enhancing uptake of electric vehicles (€20.9 million), Road construction and improvements (€11.4 million) and Property, plant and equipment (€10.0 million).
The difference between total revenue and expenditure resulted in a surplus of €98.6 million being reported in the Government’s Consolidated Fund at the end of August 2024, whereas a year earlier a deficit of €90.2 million was registered. This difference mirrors an increase in total Recurrent Revenue (€693.4 million), partly offset by a rise in total expenditure, which consists of Recurrent Expenditure (€473.7 million), Interest (€40.0 million) and Capital Expenditure (-€9.1 million) (Table 1).
At the end of August 2024, Central Government debt stood at €10,050.4 million, an increase of €847.3 million when compared to 2023. The increase reported under Malta Government Stocks (€1,083.4 million) was the main contributor to the rise in debt. Higher debt was also reported under Foreign Loans (€71.9 million) and Euro coins issued in the name of the Treasury (€3.8 million). This increase in debt was partially offset by drops in Treasury Bills (€225.7 million) and the 62+ Malta Government Savings Bond (€26.1 million). Moreover, higher holdings by government funds in Malta Government Stocks resulted in a decrease in debt of €59.9 million (Table 6).
Chart 1. Consolidated Fund Surplus/Deficit: January-August by year
in € millions
No Data Found
Chart 2. Recurrent Revenue by main category
January-August 2024