Growing Surplus in General Government Funds in June

Hungary's cash flow-based general government deficit reached HUF 3,382.2 billion at the end of June, 80.2% of the full-year target, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary release of data on Wednesday.

As MTI reports, the central budget deficit reached HUF 3,271.4 billion and the social security funds were HUF 214.6 billion in the red, but separate state funds had a surplus of HUF 103.4 billion.

The surplus for the month of June alone reached HUF 424.1 billion, up from a HUF 27.4 billion surplus in the same month a year ago. For the month of May, Hungary had a general government surplus of HUF 43.5 billion.

On the expenditure side, HUF 1,335.7 billion was spent on supporting state transport and public utility services in H1, down by HUF 18.7 billion from the same period of the previous year.

Expenditures on state investments came to HUF 346.6 billion, nearly HUF 100 billion higher than in the base period primarily because of payments related to certain road investments. Housing subsidies of HUF 255.6 billion significantly exceeded the level of the same period of the previous year.

By the end of June a total of HUF 4,300.4 billion was paid for pensions and pension-like benefits, while HUF 1,544.1 billion was paid for curative and preventive care.

On the revenue side in June payments by financial institutions exceeded revenues from the same period last year by HUF 120.7 billion.

A HUF 178.1 billion increase in VAT revenues was primarily the result of the recovery in domestic and import turnover, as well as the excise tax increase on tobacco products at the beginning of the year. An almost HUF 625 billion increase in public charges on wages is due to increasing wages and revenue from one-off wage payments.

Payments from the energy sector were down by HUF 47.1 billion and revenue from corporate tax HUF 51.8 billion lower in which the development of sports subsidising and the timing of allocations may also have played a role.