ATHENS: Greece’s budget showed a 1.022-billion-euro deficit in the January-July 2015 period, while state revenue dropped by 4.125 billion euros during the same period, according to the country’s Finance Ministry figures.
At the same time, the Greek government defaulted payments worth 4.4 billion euros to suppliers. This resulted in the state budget showing a 3.5-billion-euro primary surplus. The Greek government and creditors have changed the already revised target of the 2015 primary surplus, which now is projected to be 0.25% of GDP instead of 1%. Initially, the primary surplus target was 3% of GDP.
According to the Finance Ministry, the reason the target is not met is due to: A) the extension of the first tranche payment of individual income tax, B) the extension of the first tranche payment of corporate income tax, C) failure to establish the new single property tax and thereby not collecting any property tax yet, and D) revenue from transfer efficiencies from the maintenance of SS bonds in the portfolios of central banks of the Eurosystem (ANFAs & SMPs) at 1.724 million euros.
