Jan-July revenue beats target by €2.2 bln

Finalized data on revenue for the first seven months of the year show that it exceeded the target set in the 2023 budget by €2.246 billion, or 7.1%, as VAT and income tax receipts exceeded expectations.

But Finance Ministry officials quickly played down expectations of likely handouts, noting that part of this excess income involves revenue that fiscally belongs to the past year, such as the final two installments of income tax payments and the extension of the deadline to pay the 2022 vehicle fees to February 2023. Moreover, they said, the real comparison is no longer with budget targets but with those of the Stability Program submitted to the European Commission in April.

Not for the first time, officials emphasized that Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will announce little in the way of handouts at his keynote speech in the Thessaloniki International Fair on September 9.

Budget implementation data show a primary surplus of €3.558 billion thus far, against an end-year target of €1.33 billion.

Net revenue, at €37.148 billion, could have been higher but for the delays in approving the new concession of the Egnatia Highway, which cost the state some €1.496 billion, and the delay in getting the third instalment in EU aid, worth €1.718 billion, from the Recovery Fund.

VAT revenue, at €13.365 billion, exceeded the target by €631 million. Income tax revenue, at €10.112 billion, exceeded the target by €825 million. Property taxes, at €1.779 billion, were €26 million more than expected.

There was also a €603 million unanticipated payment from the European Central Bank through the Agreement on Net Financial Assets.