General govʼt deficit close to 80% of full-year target
Hungaryʼs cash flow-based general government, excluding local councils, ran a HUF 1.081 trillion deficit at the end of April, the Ministry for National Economy said in a preliminary data release on Tuesday.
The deficit thus reached 79.5% of the HUF 1.360 tln full-year target, according to national news agency MTI.
The central budget was HUF 1.119 tln in the red and separate state funds had a deficit of HUF 7 billion. The social insurance funds had a surplus of HUF 45.1 bln. Alone in the month of April, the general government deficit came to HUF 209.4 bln.
The ministry noted that pre-financing for EU-funded projects had reached HUF 857.2 bln by the end of April, while transfers from Brussels came to just HUF 63.9 bln.
Expenditures were also lifted by spending on central budget-funded projects, such as the Modern Cities Program, the Healthy Budapest Program, priority road investments and the upgrade of Erzsébet summer camps for children, as well as HUF 10,000 in Erzsébet food vouchers awarded to pensioners and a HUF 12,000 utilities discount granted to households in March, the ministry added.
The ministry noted that central budget revenues from VAT and personal income tax were up HUF 136.4 bln and HUF 82.3 bln, respectively, in January-April from the same period a year earlier, while payroll tax revenue climbed by HUF 91 bln.
The government is standing by its full-year deficit target of 2.4% of GDP and assumes GDP growth of more than 4%, the ministry said.
Hungary Gasoline Prices 3% Over Regional Avg
Hungary to Address Future of Cohesion Policy During EU Presi...
120,000 Guest Workers Employed in Hungary
Budapest Airport Wins 'Best Airport in Eastern Europe' for 1...
SUPPORT THE BUDAPEST BUSINESS JOURNAL
Producing journalism that is worthy of the name is a costly business. For 27 years, the publishers, editors and reporters of the Budapest Business Journal have striven to bring you business news that works, information that you can trust, that is factual, accurate and presented without fear or favor.
Newspaper organizations across the globe have struggled to find a business model that allows them to continue to excel, without compromising their ability to perform. Most recently, some have experimented with the idea of involving their most important stakeholders, their readers.
We would like to offer that same opportunity to our readers. We would like to invite you to help us deliver the quality business journalism you require. Hit our Support the BBJ button and you can choose the how much and how often you send us your contributions.
