Id-dejta dwar il-finanzi pubbliċi maħruġa mill-Uffiċċju Nazzjonali tal-Istatistika llum hija konferma oħra ta’ kemm il-Gvern miexi skont il-pjanijiet tiegħu biex jilħaq il-miri baġitarji ambizzjużi li ffissa.
Il-Ministru tal-Finanzi Edward Scicluna kkummenta: “Iċ-ċifri tal-ewwel nofs ta’ din is-sena jikkonfermaw il-kapaċità ta’ dan il-Gvern li jżomm mal-impenji fiskali tiegħu. F’dawn l-aħħar sentejn, dan il-Gvern wera li hu kapaċi jbaxxi d-defiċit fiskali gradwalment billi ħadem għal konsolidament li jiffavorixxi t-tkabbir ekonomiku. Dan għen lil Malta mhux biss biex toħroġ mill-Proċedura tad-Defiċit Eċċessiv iżda wkoll biex issir waħda mill-aktar ekonomiji li qed jikbru b’ħeffa fiż-Żona tal-Ewro.
Iċ-ċifri tal-ewwel sitt xhur juru li d-dħul żdied bi 13.6 fil-mija, b’riżultat ta’ żidiet qawwija fl-introjtu u n-nefqa privati xprunati minn iktar fiduċja u minn ottimiżmu fis-suq tax-xogħol. Fil-fatt, minkejja li tbaxxew ir-rati tat-taxxa fuq l-introjtu, id-dħul mit-taxxa fuq l-introjtu żdied bi kważi €40 miljun filwaqt li d-dħul mill-VAT żdied b’aktar minn €10 miljun, u dan jirrifletti t-tkabbir qawwi fil-konsum privat.
Anki n-nefqa tal-Gvern żdiedet, b’5.1 fil-mija, l-aktar minħabba żieda fin-nefqa kapitali, l-infiq operatorju u għall-manutenzjoni, kif ukoll programmi u inizjattivi. In-nefqa kapitali qabżet il-€200 miljun fl-ewwel nofs tal-2015 filwaqt li n-nefqa fuq programmi u inizjattivi laħqet it-€341 miljun. Din tal-aħħar tirrifletti l-impenji tal-Gvern li jwettaq il-programm tiegħu u tinkludi inizjattivi bħaċ-ċentri fejn jieħdu ħsieb lit-tfal bla ħlas u l-għoti ta’ benefiċċji lil min ikun jaħdem.
Il-figuri uffiċjali juru wkoll li l-emolumenti personali żdiedu b’inqas minn €20 miljun fl-aħħar sena, bil-biċċa l-kbira taż-żidiet jirriżultaw minn żidiet fil-pagi b’riżultat tal-ftehim kollettiv. Dan jikkuntrasta bil-kbir ma’ dak li tgħid ripetutament l-Oppożizzjoni, meta tinsinwa li l-Gvern tilef il-kontroll fuq in-nefqa tiegħu.
Id-dejta turi wkoll li d-defiċit tal-fond konsolidat għall-ewwel nofs tal-2015 naqas b’aktar minn €107 miljun meta mqabbel mal-istess perjodu tas-sena l-oħra.
Sabiex ikompli jżid it-trasparenza u jagħti kont lin-nies, għall-ewwel darba l-Ministeru tal-Finanzi se jippubblika Rapport ta’ Kull Sitt Xhur li fih jippreżenta dettalji estensivi dwar l-iżviluppi fiskali fl-ewwel nofs ta’ din is-sena.
Public Finances Figures confirm the Ability of this Government to attain its Commitments
Government Finance Data issued by the National Statistics Office (NSO) today provides further confirmation that the ambitious budgetary targets set by the Government are well on track.
Minister for Finance, Prof. Edward Scicluna, commented: ‘The figures for the first half of this year confirm the ability of this Government to attain its fiscal commitments. Over the course of the last two years, this Government proved able to progressively lower the fiscal deficit by employing a growth-friendly consolidation approach. This not only helped Malta to exit from the Excessive Deficit Procedure but also to be one of the fastest growing economies in the Euro Area’.
Data for the first six months shows that revenue increased by 13.6 per cent, on the back of strong increases in private income and expenditure spurred by increased confidence and a buoyant labour market. In fact, in spite of the lower income tax rates, revenue from income tax increased by almost €40 million while VAT revenue increased by more than €10 million, reflecting the robust growth in private consumption.
Government expenditure also increased by 5.1 per cent mostly due to increased capital expenditure, operational and maintenance expenses, and programmes and initiatives. Capital expenditure reached over €200 million in the first half of 2015 while expenditure on programmes and initiatives reached €341 million. The latter reflects Government commitments to implement its programme and includes initiatives such as the free-child care centres and the In-Work Benefits.
The official figures also show that personal emoluments increased by less than €20 million over last year, with most of the increase due to wage increases triggered by the collective agreement. This sharply contrasts with the repeated claims made by the Opposition whereby it insinuates that Government lost control over its expenditure.
Data also shows that the consolidated fund deficit for the first half of 2015 declined by over €107 million over the same period last year.
To further increase transparency and accountability, for the first time ever, the Ministry of Finance will be publishing a Half-Yearly Report in which it will present extensive details on the fiscal developments over the course of the first half of this year.
– Friday, 31st July, 2015