In the last quarter of 2009, the General Government account registered a shortfall of €24.8 million, contributing to an annual deficit of €218.2 million.

Quarterly Non-Financial Accounts (t/t-4)

The deficit recorded by the General Government for the fourth quarter of 2009 amounted to €24.8 million, down from €46.9 million in the comparable period of 2008.

The comparable reduction to the deficit in 2009 was brought about by higher revenue of €46.2 million which was not outweighed by higher expenditure of €24.2 million. The main contributors to the increase in total revenue were ‘capital transfers receivable’ (+€22.4 million), ‘taxes on production and imports’ (+€17.0 million) and ‘current taxes on income and wealth’ (+€16.3 million). On the other hand, the major declines in revenue were recorded in ‘current transfers receivable’ by €6.1 million and ‘market output’ by €4.8 million.

Concurrently, total expenditure during the last quarter of 2009 amounted to €689.8 million. The comparative increase of €24.2 million was partly the result of higher ‘gross capital formation’ (+€16.6 million), ‘social benefits and social transfers in kind’ (+€15.4 million) and ‘capital transfers payable’ (+€10.1 million). Conversely, lower expenditure was recorded in ‘compensation of employees’ (-€16.1 million), ‘current taxes on income and wealth’ (-€7.9 million) and ‘intermediate consumption’ (-€5.0 million).

Quarterly Financial Accounts (t/t-1)

During the last quarter of 2009, an improvement of €45.4 million was registered in ‘currency and deposits’ in assets, while a comparative increase of €0.3 million was recorded in liabilities. ‘Short-term securities’ went down by €84.8 million, whereas ‘long-term securities’ increased by €117.6 million. Moreover, a decline was observed in total loans both in assets and in liabilties by €0.9 million and €1.0 million respectively. Concurrently, ‘shares and other equity’ in assets went down by €2.8 million. When compared to the third quarter of 2009, drops were registered in other accounts receivable (-€111.7 million) and payable (-€81.4 million).

Quarterly Debt (t/t-4)

Total general government debt outstanding at the end of December 2009 increased by €321.0 million from the comparable period in 2008, and amounted to €3,947.6 million. The central government debt increased by €320.6 million. This was underpinned by higher short-term securities (Treasury Bills), which added €108.3 million and long-term securities (Malta Government Stocks) which went up by €262.0 million. On the other hand, central government loans declined by €55.7 million. In addition, the local government debt edged up by €0.4 million. The euro coins issued in the name of the Treasury, which are considered as a currency liability pertaining to the Central Government, amounted to €37.2 million, a rise of €6.0 million over the euro coin stock recorded at the end of December 2008.

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