Targets missed in revenues and spending
June has proven to be the worst month for the Greek budget so far this year, as uncertainty hurt revenues and the state’s needs led the government to halt all other payments to guarantee the payment of salaries and pensions.
Expenditure dropped by 1.4 billion euros in June alone, taking the state’s total unpaid dues in the first half of the year to 4.09 billion euros, compared with the target set in the 2015 budget.
Net budget revenues posted a shortfall of over 1.65 billion euros in the year to end-June, with almost half of that (701 million euros) recorded last month alone. It appears that the uncertainty regarding the country’s future led taxpayers to hold off paying their tax obligations, as well as cut consumption to the bare essentials, as reflected in indirect tax payments.
Consequently, the budget posted a primary surplus in the first half of the year, amounting to 1.8 billion euros, against a target for 1.2 billion. This picture, however, is deceptive as the state has created a new generation of debts in order to create that primary surplus.
