Hungary four-month gen gov deficit 60% of full-year target

Hungary posted a cashflow-based general government deficit, excluding local councils, of HUF 528.6 billion in the first four months of 2013, or 60% of the HUF 841.8 billion full-year target, the National Economy Ministry said in a first reading on Tuesday.
    In April alone, the general government, excluding local councils, that is the central government, had a deficit of HUF 35.0 billion.
    Last April, the central government had a HUF 287.8 billion surplus. And it recorded a deficit of HUF 228.2 billion in the first four months of 2012, posting 37.6% of the preliminary full-year deficit. The ministry warned, however, that the two years are not directly comparable as a result of tax and organisational changes, such as the takeover of municipal institutions as of May 1, 2012 and January 1, 2013.
    Both four-month central government revenue and expenditure was behind their pro-rata targets, although the shortfall was bigger in the case of revenue, which reached 30.8% of the annual target, than in spending, which reached 32.4%.
    Four-month central budget revenue, at HUF 2,939.4 billion, reached 28.7% of the annual target as against 30.7% a year earlier. Still, it was up HUF 58.1 billion from twelve months earlier, reflecting more payments from individual tax items, such as the personal income tax and the revenue resulting from the newly introduced taxes, the ministry said.
    Four-month expenditure totalled HUF 3,607.5 billion, or 32.5% of the full-year goal, and was slightly ahead of the 31.5% respective ratio last year. Four-month spending was up HUF 455.2 billion yr/yr, mainly reflecting the takeover of health, social and other local institutions and teachers' wages, the ministry said. One-off and standard support also rose, reflecting a differing schedule of the support payments to transport companies, it said.
    In January-April, the central budget had a deficit of HUF 668.1 billion, just over 75% of the full-year target. In 2012 it had a HUF 271.0 billion deficit, which was 41.7% of the preliminary full-year figure.
    The social insurance funds, planned to break even in 2013, had a HUF 98.8 billion surplus in the first four months as compared to a HUF 11.6 billion deficit, just less than 10% of the annual shortfall one year earlier.
    Separate state funds registered a surplus of HUF 41.0 billion in January-April against a targeted full-year deficit of HUF 7.3 billion. In January-April 2012, they had a surplus of HUF 54.4 billion, delivering 41.7% of their annual surplus.
    In April alone, the central budget had a HUF 79.4 billion deficit, while the national social insurance funds had a surplus of HUF 35.9 and the separate state funds had a surplus of HUF 8.5 billion.