General Government budget was in surplus last year

According to revised data, the total revenues of the general government sector surmounted the expenditures, accounted as the Maastricht deficit criteria, by 35.2 million euros at the end of 2010. Due to the methodological correction suggested by Eurostat, the tax revenues of 2010 increased by 30.6 million euros compared to the preliminary data and the 2009 tax revenues decreased accordingly. The need for this kind of correction derived from the uneven proportion of the reimbursements of the value-added tax allocated to the further control at the end of 2009, which tampered the yearly results of the value-added tax receipts.

According to the revised data, the deficit of central government was 77.6 million euros. The general government consolidated budget was dragged to the surplus by the positive results of other sub-sectors: local government’s sector’s surplus was 30.5 million euros and the surplus of the social security funds 82.3 million euros.

The general government consolidated debt (Maastricht debt), showing a diminishing trend over several recent years, was 956.7 million euros at the end of 2010, out of which the local government’s sector’s debt accounted for 57%. The debt level of the social security funds was continually very low compared to other sectors, only 256,000 euros. Compared to the preliminary data there were no significant changes in the debt level indicators.

Surplus/deficit and debt level of the general government and the sub-sectors, 2006–2010