Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1503179
4 NEWS 6.7.2023 DURING the period January to March 2023, total government revenue stood at €1,397.5 million, an increase of €89.9 million when compared to the corre- sponding quarter in 2022. is was mainly brought about by increases in Taxes on production and imports (€43.6 million), Current taxes on income and wealth (€20.6 million) and Net social contributions receivable (€11.9 million). Total expenditure in the first quarter of 2023 amounted to €1,643.0 million, a decrease of €37.9 million over the cor- responding quarter in 2022. e largest decrease was recorded in Current transfers payable (€49.1 mil- lion), followed by Gross capital for- mation (€27.1) and Subsidies payable (€17.1 million). is was partly offset by increases in Social benefits and social transfers in kind (€27.0 million), Compensation of employees (€21.1 million) and Interme- diate consumption (€8.1 million) (Table 3). Adjustments were made to the Gov- ernment's Consolidated Fund data to shift to accrual-based accounts and thus comply with the requirements of ESA 2010. In the first quarter of 2023, these ad- justments brought about an increase of €109.8 million to the Consolidated Fund deficit. Quarterly financial accounts In relation to financial transactions in assets, during the first quarter, Curren- cy and deposits and Equity and invest- ment fund shares increased by €11.1 million and €6.2 million, respectively. On the other hand, Other accounts receivable and Long-term loans regis- tered a decrease of €47.6 million and €23.7 million, respectively (Table 7). Considering the financial transactions in liabilities, the highest increase was recorded in Long-term debt securities (€347.9 million), followed by Long-term loans (€1.1 million). In contrast, decreases were registered in Short-term debt securities (€94.7 million), Other accounts payable (€32.5 million) and Currency and deposits (€1.6 million). Quarterly debt At the end of March, General Govern- ment debt stood at €9,255.1 million, or 53.6 per cent of Gross Domestic Prod- uct (GDP)1. is equates to an increase of €603.8 million over the corresponding quar- ter in 2022, largely reflected in Central Government Debt, which amounted to €9,253.1 million. Currency and depos- its stood at €472.4 million, a decrease of €94.8 million when compared to the figure recorded in March 2022. is includes euro coins issued in the name of the Treasury, considered a li- ability of Central Government, and the 62+ Malta Government Savings Bond, the latter amounting to €373.7 million. Long-term debt securities and Long- term loans increased by €711.7 million and €13.7 million, respectively. is was partly offset by Short-debt term securities, which declined by €26.8 million, while Short-term loans did not record any changes. Local Government debt stood at €2.1 million. General Government guaranteed debt amounted to €1,158.5 million at the end of March 2023, equivalent to 6.7 per cent of GDP1. ere was a decrease of €6.0 million when compared to the first quarter of 2022. General Government Sector revenue and expenditure (in € millions) General Government debt (in € millions) General Government recorded a deficit of €245.5 million in Q1