Greece’s state budget deficit
narrowed in the first half of the year, beating targets set
under its bailout agreement with the European Union and the
International Monetary Fund.
The shortfall, which excludes spending by state-owned
institutions and companies, fell to 12.3 billion euros ($15.1
billion) from 13.1 billion euros a year earlier, according to
preliminary figures from the Finance Ministry in Athens today.
That was less than a target of 14.9 billion euros.
Ordinary budget revenue was 21.8 billion euros, in line
with the year-earlier result and below a target of 22.8 billion
euros. Revenue was damped by lower tax income, which the
ministry said was due to
slower domestic demand and an extension
granted to individuals and companies to submit their taxes.
Greece, which has struggled to meet targets for narrowing
its budget deficit while receiving aid pledges of 240 billion
euros over the past two years, is racing to make up for time
lost after the country held two elections in six weeks. Prime
Minister Antonis Samaras is bidding for looser aid conditions
from creditors amid a fifth year of recession that is hurting
tax-collection efforts.
Ordinary spending was 33.6 billion euros in the first half,
matching the year-earlier level, as the government clamped down
on expenses including military spending, according to the
statement. The target was 35.9 billion euros.
The primary deficit in the period, which excludes interest
payments, was 3.2 billion euros, down from 6.1 billion euros a
year earlier. The target was 5.3 billion euros.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Maria Petrakis in Athens at
mpetrakis@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Foxwell at
sfoxwell@bloomberg.net
No comments:
Post a Comment