News Releases

Quarterly Accounts for General Government: Q1/2023
NR116/2023
Release Date: 05 July 2023
In the first quarter of 2023, the General Government recorded a deficit of €245.5 million.

Quarterly non-financial accounts (t/t-4)

During the period January to March 2023, total revenue stood at €1,397.5 million, an increase of €89.9 million when compared to the corresponding quarter in 2022. This was mainly brought about by increases in Taxes on production and imports (€43.6 million), Current taxes on income and wealth (€20.6 million) and Net social contributions receivable (€11.9 million) (Table 2).

Total expenditure in the first quarter of 2023 amounted to €1,643.0 million, a decrease of €37.9 million over the corresponding quarter in 2022. The largest decrease was recorded in Current transfers payable (€49.1 million), followed by Gross capital formation (€27.1) and Subsidies payable (€17.1 million).  This was partly offset by increases in Social benefits and social transfers in kind (€27.0 million), Compensation of employees (€21.1 million) and Intermediate consumption (€8.1 million) (Table 3).

Adjustments were made to the Government’s Consolidated Fund data to shift to accrual-based accounts and thus comply with the requirements of ESA 2010. In the first quarter of 2023, these adjustments brought about an increase of €109.8 million to the Consolidated Fund deficit (Table 4).

Chart 1. General Government Sector revenue and expenditure

in € millions

No Data Found

Quarterly financial accounts (t/t-1)

In relation to financial transactions in assets, during the first quarter, Currency and deposits and Equity and investment fund shares increased by €11.1 million and €6.2 million, respectively. On the other hand, Other accounts receivable and Long-term loans registered a decrease of €47.6 million and €23.7 million, respectively (Table 7).

Considering the financial transactions in liabilities, the highest increase was recorded in Long-term debt securities (€347.9 million), followed by Long-term loans (€1.1 million). In contrast, decreases were registered in Short-term debt securities (€94.7 million), Other accounts payable (€32.5 million) and Currency and deposits (€1.6 million) (Table 8).

Quarterly debt (t/t-4)

At the end of March, General Government debt stood at €9,255.1 million, or 53.6 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)1. This equates to an increase of €603.8 million over the corresponding quarter in 2022, largely reflected in Central Government Debt, which amounted to €9,253.1 million. Currency and deposits stood at €472.4 million, a decrease of €94.8 million when compared to the figure recorded in March 2022. This includes euro coins issued in the name of the Treasury, considered a liability of Central Government, and the 62+ Malta Government Savings Bond, the latter amounting to €373.7 million. Long-term debt securities and Long-term loans increased by €711.7 million and €13.7 million, respectively.  This was partly offset by Short-debt term securities, which declined by €26.8 million, while Short-term loans did not record any changes. Local Government debt stood at €2.1 million (Table 9).

Chart 2. General Government debt

in € millions

General Government guaranteed debt amounted to €1,158.5 million at the end of March 2023, equivalent to 6.7 per cent of GDP1. There was a decrease of €6.0 million when compared to the first quarter of 2022 (Table 9).

1 Calculated using the sum of the quarterly GDP for the last four quarters.

Methodological Notes

1. All data in this news release are in line with the European System of Accounts (ESA) 2010 Manual (ISBN 978-92-79-31242-7). This system of accounts is mandatory for all EU Member States.

2. General Government Sector (S.13 sector according to the ESA2010 definitions) is made up of the Central Government Sector (S.1311) and the Local Government Sector (S.1313). The Central Government Sector includes the Budgetary Central Government, made up of Government ministries and departments and the Extra Budgetary Units (EBUs).

3. As a general rule, ESA 2010 states that all financial assets and liabilities are to be valued using current market prices on the date to which the balance sheet relates. Changes between opening and closing stocks may also include other economic flows which are not due to financial transactions. The other economic flows are broken down into revaluations in financial assets and liabilities, and other changes in the volume of financial assets and liabilities. The other economic flows data can be found in the excel version of this news release.

4. The deficit calculated from the non-financial accounts (B.9) should be consistent with the deficit measured from the financial accounts (B.9f) however, differences arise due to different sources and estimations.

5. Quarterly General Government Debt (Table 9) may not be consistent with the reported government liabilities in the Quarterly Financial Accounts for General Government (QFAGG) (Table 6). They differ because of the different valuation rules: government liabilities are reported at market value, whereas government debt is reported at nominal value excluding accrued interest. In Table 9, General Government debt is in line with Maastricht debt provisions, at the end of the period indicated. All aggregates are consolidated between the different sub-sectors of General Government. The government guarantees reported in Table 9 are on debt instruments. Government guarantees include guarantees granted by the EBUs but exclude government guarantees provided to EBUs. There are two types of guarantees: one-off (individual and large amounts) and standardised (issued in large numbers, for fairly small amounts and identical terms).

6. The figures for taxes on production and imports are treated differently between the compilation of the GDP and the General Government Sector accounts. In the latter an adjustment is made for the payment of the EU own resources on import duties.

7. The European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) was established on 7 June 2010 for the purpose of providing stability support to Euro Area Member States (EAMS). The EFSF finances such support by issuing or entering into bonds, notes, commercial paper, or other financing arrangements. The operations are backed by guarantees of the EAMS on the basis of an agreed ‘adjusted contribution key’. On 27 January 2011, Eurostat decided that the debt issued by the EFSF for each support operation must be rerouted to the public accounts of the EAMS providing guarantees, proportionately to their contribution key. Therefore, the recording of such flows will impact the gross government debt (as defined in the Maastricht Treaty) but not the net debt. In addition, all revenue/expenditure streams (interest, margins and service fees) will be recorded in the General Government accounts, resulting in a positive impact on the deficit/surplus of the EAMS.

8. The GDP used in the fiscal ratios is calculated using the sum of the quarterly GDP for the last four quarters. Source of GDP data: News Release 095/2023 dated 30 May 2023.

9. All data in this release should be considered as provisional and therefore subject to revision. Figures may not add up due to rounding.

10. t/t-4 refers to the change over the corresponding quarter in the previous year.
       t/t-1 refers to the change over the previous quarter.

11. More information relating to this news release may be accessed at:

12. Any quotations from this news release are to be cited and/or referenced.

13. A detailed news release calendar is available online.

 
Quarterly Accounts for General Government: Q1/2023
NR116/2023
Release Date: 05 July 2023
Business,Analyst,Checking,In,Financial,Statement,For,Audit,Internal,Control
  • In the first quarter of 2023, the General Government recorded a deficit of €245.5 million.
  • Compared to the corresponding quarter in 2022, total revenue increased by €89.9 million, while total expenditure decreased by €37.9 million.
  • At the end of the first quarter of 2023, the General Government debt stood at €9,255.1 million, an increase of €603.8 million over the same quarter in 2022.
  • The Government guaranteed debt amounted to €1,158.5 million at the end of March 2023, a decrease of €6.0 million when compared to the first quarter of 2022.
General Government Q1 2023
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