Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/806571
5 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 2 APRIL 2017 News Total recurrent revenue 2,302,145 2,370,770 2,252,356 2,643,831 2,715,732 2,992,104 3,387,209 3,634,798 3,806,963 Change over past year - 2.9% -4.9% 17.3% 2.7% 10.1% 13.2% 7.3% 4.7% Total recurrent expenditure 2,124,093 2,204,421 2,296,343 2,361,285 2,488,423 2,632,649 2,857,050 3,056,834 3,264,338 Change over past year - 3.7% 4.1% 2.8% 5.3% 5.7% 8.5% 6.9% 6.7% Total capital expenditure 221,150 271,346 311,470 288,695 363,777 394,710 435,349 581,465 310,300 Change over past year - 22.6% 14.7% -7.3% 26% 8.5% 10.3% 33.5% -46.6% Surplus/Deficit -233,136 -297,021 -279,212 -218,610 -362,276 -263,159 -136,286 -235,832 8,870 Change over past year - +27.4% -5.9% +21.6% +65.7% -27.3% -48.2% +73% +103.7% 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Revenue/Expenditure in € 000s Nationalist government Labour governmnet Change in government Mapping government spending 2008-2016 Government finance data shows annual totals of revenue, and recurrent and capital spending, and how amounts changed from one year to the other Source: NSO lion (4.5%) over 2015, €72 million less recurrent spending (-1.9%), and a massive drop of €271 mil- lion in capital spending (-46%). In fact, Labour itself describes 2015 as not being a normal year. "It was an exceptional one where capital expenditure reached an all-time high, for the simple rea- son that this government had the unenviable task of spending EU funds which had been left largely unspent by the previous govern- ment, during the 2007-2013 mul- ti-financial framework." This massive absorption in 2015 meant that in 2016, the govern- ment returned to a normal ex- penditure year even though sta- tistically, the spend is much lower than previous years. Also keep in mind that when capital spending climbed up to €581 million in 2015, that also raised the deficit from €136 mil- lion in 2014 to €235 million in 2015. This alone shows how capi- tal spending influences the deficit. While recurrent expenditure can sometimes be difficult to control – because of government sala- ries in the main, increased public sector jobs, and other spending on programmes – capital spend- ing is what government can truly choose to close the tap on. In fact, Labour's record of spend- ing on day-to-day operations shows that between 2013 and 2016, its recurrent expenditure was growing faster than it ever did under the last PN administration. But so did its revenues, consist- ently, on the back of greater tax receipts. The week was also punctuated by the reaffirmation of Malta's A- rating from Standard and Poor's, now noting the consistent nar- rowing of the government deficit, a long-standing bugbear of the fis- cally conservative Labour Party. Malta now enjoys one of the strongest economic expansions across the eurozone, bolstered by a diversified economy and in- creased participation of the fe- male workforce. For Labour, it was an opportu- nity to hit out at Busuttil. "Many were the Nationalist administra- tions that could not achieve this fiscal target… a futile crusader's search for the Holy Grail," the party said in a statement yester- day. mvella@mediatoday.com.mt