December budget: Primary deficit reduced by 2 billion euros in 2021

By Tasos Dasopoulos

With revenues increased by 743 million euros, against the budget target, it finally closed in 2021, despite the extension of the payment of traffic fees until the end of February.

The primary budget deficit stood at 10.985 billion euros, down about 2 billion euros from a target of a primary deficit of 12.946 billion euros and a primary deficit of 18.195 billion euros for the same period in 2020. This result was overstated. net budget revenues of € 800 million and expenditure restraint of € 1.144 billion.

The Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr. Thodoros Skylakakis, commenting on the closure of the budget for 2021, stressed that the budget execution data of the twelve-month period show a significantly better deficit for 2021, compared to that entered in the 2022 budget. The state budget deficit is about two billion (1.965 billion euros) smaller. “These data are temporary and we will have to wait, before reaching final conclusions, for the finalization of the relevant data, for which it is required to disclose both the general government data and the tax revenues for the first two months of 2022 that are part of its budget. 2021 (VAT, ENFIA, income tax, traffic fees, etc.). .

More specifically, the amount of net revenues of the state budget amounted to 54.22 billion euros, showing an increase of 800 million euros or 1.5% compared to the estimate for the corresponding period included in the budget report 2022. In This increase was mainly due to the fact that in December an amount of 644 million euros was collected for revenues from ANFA’s, which were not foreseen for 2021 in the budget report 2022, while, on the other hand, due to the extension of the deadline for traffic fees By the end of February 2022 it is estimated that a significant amount foreseen to be collected in the year 2021 will be finally collected in 2022. The total state budget revenues amounted to 59., 324 billion euros, increased by 1.244 billion euros or 2.1 % against the target.

Tax revenue amounted to € 47.602 billion, up € 743 million or 1.6% from the target set out in the 2022 Budget report. of tax revenue is even higher.

Revenue returns were € 5.104 billion, up € 443 million from the target (€ 4.66 billion).

Public Investment Budget (PDB) revenues amounted to € 4.519 billion, down € 275 million from the target (€ 4.793 billion).

December

In particular, in December 2021 the total net revenue of the state budget amounted to 5.744 billion euros, increased by 474 million euros compared to the updated monthly target.

As mentioned above, the revenue for December includes an amount of 644 million euros from ANFAs, which was not foreseen to be collected, while it is estimated that a significant amount was not collected due to the extension of the deadline for payment of traffic fees, which was foreseen to be collected in December.

The total state budget revenues amounted to 6.578 billion euros, increased against the monthly target by 835 million euros.

Revenues from taxes amounted to 4.67 billion euros, down 41 million euros or 0.9% from the monthly target, mainly due to the extension of
deadline for payment of road tax until the end of February 2022.

Revenue returns for December 2021 amounted to € 833 million, up € 361 million from the target (€ 472 million).

Revenues from the Public Investment Budget (PIP) amounted to € 751 million, up € 145 million from the target (€ 606 million).

Expenses

The State Budget expenditures for the period January – December 2021 amounted to 69.75 billion euros and are reduced by 1.157 billion euros or 1.6% compared to the target (70.907 billion euros), which is included in the report of Budget 2022.

In the part of the Regular Budget, there is a lag against the target by 1.208 billion euros or 1.9%, which is mainly due to the under-execution of other grants by 781 million euros. The aforementioned under-execution is mainly a result of the collateral assessment for dealing with the pandemic, for the year 2021.

Payments in the area of ​​investment expenditures amounted to 9,001 billion euros, showing an increase compared to the target of 8.95 billion euros by 51 million euros or 0.6%.

The provisional picture of the main payments of the measures against the pandemic for the period January – December, is as follows:

(a) the cost of special purpose compensation due to the COVID-19 (employee) pandemic of € 2.017 billion, paid by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (transfer category);
b) the repayable advance of EUR 1,620 million from the category of transfers and EUR 1,108 billion from the EDP;
c) the state compensation of landlords amounting to 744 million euros, due to reduced rents they receive;
d) the grant to OPEC amounting to 227 million euros, for the repayment of loans affected by the pandemic;
(e) the support of small and micro-enterprises affected by COVID-19 in the Regions amounting to EUR 741 million from the EDP;
f) the subsidy of interest on loans to small and medium-sized enterprises amounting to EUR 117 million from the EDP;
(g) expenditure on the business guarantee fund of EUR 220 million from the EDP;
(h) the working capital subsidy to catering establishments for the supply of raw materials amounting to EUR 243 million from the EDP;
i) the public contribution for the repayment of business loans of affected borrowers amounting to 259 million euros from the EDP;
j) the working capital subsidy to tourism enterprises amounting to 195 million euros from the EDP;
k) the coverage of insurance contributions to e-EFKA during the implementation of the measures of support of employers and employees amounting to 703 million euros from the category of transfers;
l) the coverage of insurance contributions to e-EFKA related to the subsidy of fixed costs of enterprises amounting to 243 million euros;
m) the extraordinary subsidy of the Municipalities for the confrontation of the pandemic amounting to 101 million euros,
n) the grant to OAED to cover a loss of revenue of 571 million euros,
o) the grant to the EOPYY for the response to the public health emergency, in the framework of the measures against the pandemic amounting to 108 million euros; and
p) the grant to various social security organizations to cover the insurance contributions of new subsidized jobs amounting to EUR 107 million.