Revenue from indirect taxes in February were "inspiring," but one has to remain cautious as to chances for sustaining such positive trends in coming months, according to minister of finance Mateusz Szczurek. Still, he said that the state budget's realisation in the first two months of the year was very good.
Earlier in the day, the Polish Press Agency reported, quoting a document from the ministry, that the budget deficit reached around PLN 9.5bn in January-February, or around 20% of the whole-year limit of PLN 47.5bn. According to the press agency, budget revenue reached PLN 50.0bn, while spending was PLN 60.4bn.
The ministry earlier reported that according to the final data, the central budget posted a deficit of PLN 2.60bn at the end of January, which is 5.5% of the annual plan. In January of 2014, the budget revenue reached PLN 29.3bn. i.e. 10.5% of the plan, and expenditure - PLN 31.9bn, i.e. 9.8%.
It is worthwhile to note, however, that Poland's central budget deficit is a much narrower concept that the general government deficit.
The 2014 state budget law stipulates for central budget deficit of no more than PLN 47.5bn and takes into account the changes introduced in the privately-held open pensions funds (OFEs) system in February (i.e. writing off state obligations to the tune of 8-9% of GDP).
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