Cyprus’ “Maastricht” deficit close to zero

The general government deficit – the one that will be used to assess whether Cyprus has met the Maastricht criterion on the budget  – was close to zero in the first nine months of 2006, according to the Statistical Service, compared with a Maastricht target of 3%.

For the period January-September 2006 total revenue amounted to CYP 2,529.4 mln and total expenditure amounted to CYP 2,532.7 mln, resulting to a deficit of CYP 3.3 mln,  “almost 0% of GDP”, said the Statistical Service.

In 2007 the EU authorities will use the 2006 budget results to see if Cyprus has met all the Maastricht criteria for adopting the euro: on inflation, interest rates, the budget deficit, public debt and the exchange rate.

 

Surplus in the third quarter

 

The same report showed that on the basis of the preliminary data on the general government accounts for the period July-September 2006, compiled in accordance to E.U concepts and definitions, a surplus was recorded in the third quarter.

Total revenue amounted to CYP 972.2 mln (21.2% increase in relation to the third quarter of 2005) while total expenditure reached CYP 914.6 mln (7.9% increase), i.e. there was a surplus of CYP 57.6 mln compared to a deficit of CYP 30.6 mln during the third quarter of 2005.

For the period January-September 2006 total revenue amounted to CYP 2,529.4 mln and total expenditure amounted to CYP 2,532.7 mln resulting to a deficit of CYP 3.3 mln (almost 0% of GDP).

The main categories of revenue for the period January-September 2006 were: taxes on production and imports CYP 1.090.9 mln (14.5% increase), of which VAT was CYP 642.5 mln (increase 14.7%), taxes on income and wealth CYP 644.5 mln (25% increase), social contributions CYP 461.5 mln (7.4% increase).

The main categories of expenditure for the period January-September 2006 were: compensation of employees CYP 881.2 mln (9% increase), and social transfers CYP 687.3 mln (6.3% increase).