General govʼt closes January with budget surplus
Hungaryʼs cash flow-based general government, excluding local councils, ran a HUF 244.5 billion surplus at the end of January, the Ministry of Finance said in a preliminary flash release on Friday. The deficit target for the full year is HUF 998.4 bln, noted state news agency MTI.
The central budget surplus reached HUF 186.5 bln, while separate state funds had a HUF 23 bln and social insurance funds a HUF 35 bln surplus.
Minister of Finance Mihály Varga said tax revenues in January were HUF 200 bln higher than in the same month a year ago and there were also significant transfers from the European Union. This yearʼs budget focuses on secure growth and more resources will be allocated to support families and their buying homes, he added.
In January, budgetary revenues from VAT and personal income tax were up HUF 153.9 bln and HUF 23.9 bln, respectively, from January 2018, while payroll tax revenue climbed by HUF 23.0 bln. Excise tax revenue was up by HUF 17.1 bln.
Transfers from the EU accounted for HUF 222.9 bln of income, while the government made HUF 89.3 bln of payments for EU projects, showing that even without the January transfer the general government would have recorded a surplus for the month, Varga noted.
Main expenditure items in January included domestic-funded spending on the Modern Cities Program and railway network development projects.
The government has a full-year deficit target of 1.8% of GDP calculating with EU methodology, and expects the level of government debt to fall as in 2018, the minister said.
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