Macedonia's central government budget deficit narrowed by 10.6% y/y to MKD5.63bn (€91.5mn) in the first three months of 2016, as expenditures fell faster than revenues, finance ministry preliminary data indicated on April 25.
According to the World Bank, Macedonia is expected to end 2016 with a fiscal deficit of 3.4% of GDP and to narrow it to -3% and -2.7% in 2017 and 2018 respectively. Medium term challenges for Macedonia include the need for fiscal consolidation and prioritisation of public spending. The budget deficit is financed from government borrowing on the domestic market.
In the first quarter the budget gap accounted for 30% of the planned deficit for 2016.
In March alone, the budget deficit plunged by 31.5% y/y to MKD1.18bn.
The government's total revenues decreased by 2.8% y/y to MKD14.7bn in March, and total expenditures went down by 5.7% y/y to MKD15.9bn, data showed.
Tax revenues fell by 3% y/y to nearly MKD9.1bn in March, while revenues from contributions grew by 5.6% y/y to MKD4.1bn. Current and capital expenditures dropped by 3.3% y/y and 25% y/y respectively
In 2015, Macedonia's central government budget deficit narrowed by a real 12% to MKD19.4bn and is estimated to be equal to 3.5% of the projected GDP.
Central govt budget, MKDmn |
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Budget 2016 |
Jan'16 |
Feb’16 |
March’16 |
March’16 % y/y |
TOTAL REVENUES, incl.: |
177,292 |
12,923 |
12,925 |
14,742 |
-2.8% |
Taxes |
99,543 |
7,392 |
7,237 |
9,085 |
-3% |
Contributions |
49,187 |
3,363 |
4,077 |
4,145 |
5.6% |
TOTAL EXPENDITURES |
196,276 |
14,611 |
15,696 |
15,918 |
-5.7% |
Current Expenditures |
170,698 |
13,755 |
14,802 |
14,526 |
-3.3% |
Capital Expenditures |
25,578 |
856 |
894 |
1,391 |
-25% |
BUDGET BALANCE |
-18,984 |
-1,688 |
-2,771 |
-1,176 |
-31.5% |
Source: Ministry of finance |
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