Hungary ESA general govt surplus 4.2% of GDP in 2011

KSH said the figures slightly differ from the HUF 1,205 billion or 4.3% surplus it reported as part of the the European Union's excessive deficit procedure (EDP) to the European statistical office Eurostat, because of technical reasons such as .

The KSH released the latter figure as part of the EDP report on Friday.

The surplus was due to a transfer of private pension assets to the state last year, of which HUF 2,677.7 billion and an additional related HUF 44 billion was booked as revenue the general government last year.

Without the pension assets transfer, the general government posted a deficit of HUF 1,541.6 billion or 5.5% of GDP last year. The deficit rose by HUF 395.5 billion or by 1.2 percentage points of GDP from 2010.

Full-year revenue totalled HUF 14,883 billion in 2011, including the private pension assets transfer.

Excluding the pension assets transfer, 2011 revenue totalled HUF 12,161.7 billion, rising 0.6% from 2010. Full-year expenditure rose 3.6% to HUF 13,703 billion.

The government sector had a deficit of HUF 461 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011 or 6.4% of the respective GDP, up HUF 253 billion from a year earlier, KSH said.

Q4 revenue fell 1.7% from a year earlier to HUF 3,242 billion and Q4 spending rose 5.6% to HUF 3,703 billion.

Q4 revenue fell as income tax revenue fell 3.1% and production-related and import taxes fell 2.1%. Social security contribution rose, however 6.8% yr/yr.

Q4 expenditure was boosted by a 43.6% rise in "other spending" items, to HUF 664.7 billion, reflecting a debt takeover from state railways MÁV, settling losses of state-owned development bank MFB and taking over a part of banks' losses on a preferential-rate early mortgage repayment scheme, KSH said. Interest expenditure rose a sharp 10.5% to HUF 306.9 billion. Investment expenditure fell 12% to HUF 294.9 billion in Q4 2011.