Public administrations aside from city councils posted a deficit of 27 billion 631 million euros by November 2023, which is 1.89% of GDP and 4.3% lower than the same period last year, according to data from the Ministry of Finance released on Wednesday.
Including the balance of aid to financial institutions amounting to 324 million euros, the overall public deficit stands at 1.91% of GDP as of November, just before the 2023 closing figures. The government’s target for the year is a record deficit of 3.9%.
The deficit results from non-financial revenue growing by 7.7%, while non-financial expenses increased 6.9% to 594 billion 384 million euros.
Among revenues, tax income totaled 283,044 million euros, up 6.4%. Tax on production and imports rose 2.4% to 124,991 million, and current taxes on income and wealth increased 10.4% to 155,132 million.
On the expenditure side, employees’ wages rose by 5.8% to 116,719 million; intermediate consumption went up 6.9% to 48,958 million; interest payments climbed 9.1% to 30,153 million; and social benefits excluding in-kind transfers grew 10.1% to 218,829 million.
When breaking down by subsectors, the Central Government shows a deficit of 27 billion 671 million euros by November, excluding financial aid, equaling 1.89% of GDP. With aid to financial institutions included, the deficit becomes 27 billion 995 million euros.
The state, in its own name, registered a deficit of 2.15% of GDP, totaling 31,381 million euros, versus 2.22% in November 2022.
Additionally, entities within the Central Government recorded a surplus of 0.25% of GDP, excluding financial aid, compared with a surplus of 0.20% of GDP in November 2022.
Deficit in the autonomous communities stands at 0.32% of GDP
As a whole, autonomous communities posted a deficit of 4.668 million euros by the end of November, about 0.32% of GDP. This is 40.3% lower than the figure for the same period in 2022, driven by a 4.3% rise in expenses while revenues increased by 6%.
Tax revenue for autonomous communities up 14%
In the first eleven months, tax revenues for the autonomous communities grew 14%, reaching 79 billion 663 million euros. Within this total, taxes on production and imports fell 1.8%, to 17 billion 216 million euros.
Revenue from income and property taxes rose 20.8%, reaching 59,711 million euros, mainly due to personal income tax payments and related handling.
Meanwhile, revenue from capital taxes declined by 6.3% through November, totaling 2 billion 736 million euros.
Transfers between autonomous administrations reached 112.857 million. Transfers received by the financing system rose by 7,980 million euros, up 10.8% from the prior period.
On the spending side, wages for employees rose 6.3%, reflecting a 3% salary increase implemented in 2023 on the consolidated amount, which was 3.5% at the end of 2022.
Consumption rose by 7.4% to 36 billion 354 million euros, with nearly 60% of that total (21 billion 745 million) allocated to the health sector. Subsidies grew 5% versus the end of November 2022 to 4 billion 282 million euros. Interest payments rose 44% to 4 billion 531 million.
Social Security Funds
In the case of Social Security funds, the registry shows a surplus of 4 billion 708 million euros by November, equal to 0.32% of GDP.
This result reflects a 9% rise in revenues alongside a 10.1% increase in expenses, with contributions showing a notable 9.9% growth.