Greek budget surplus jumped to 2.072 bln euros
The Greek budget recorded a surplus of 495 million euros in the first two months of 2014, from a deficit of 788 million euros in the corresponding period last year and a budget target for a deficit of 527 million euros.
Finance Alternate Minister Christos Staikouras, in a statement said that the primary surplus jumped to 2.072 billion euros in the January-February period, from a primary surplus of 487 million euros last year and a budget target for a primary surplus of 1.047 billion euros.
Net budget revenue totaled 9.469 billion euros in the two-month period, up 4.8 pct from a budget target for the period, while net regular budget revenue totaled 7.874 billion euros, down 6.8 pct from budget targets. Tax revenue totaled 6.974 billion euros, 4.9 pct lower from targets, while tax returns totaled 497 million euros, sharply up from a budget target of 193 million. Public Investment Programme's revenue totaled 1.594 billion euros, up by 1.007 billion euros from budget targets.
State budget spending totaled 8.973 billion euros, down from a budget target of 9.563 billion euros in the two-month period. Regular budget spending totaled 8.367 billion euros, down 8.5 pct from the same period last year. Public Investment Programme's spending totaled 606 million euros, up 256 million from budget targets.