LONDON: State revenues from taxes in July were 500 million euros less that the ministry of finance had anticipated, thereby threatening fiscal targets. While taxpayers paid the first monthly income tax installment as anticipated, revenues from customs were far below expectations. As a result, the hole in state revenues from taxes was 513 million euros.
Most of the losses in customs came from fuel oil. Sales, and imports, of fuel oil dropped dramatically due to lower than anticipated consumption. Also, there was a dramatic drop in imported tobacco products. This is attributed to the over-stocking of tobacco products in June, before the implementation of the new excise taxes.
Specifically, The Greek State anticipated 5.3 billion euros in revenues in July and collected 4.8 billion. Income tax payments amounted to 1.2 billion euros and that number was on target. Compared to July last year, revenues were 3.5 percent less. However, according to the finance ministry, for the January-July period, overall state revenues were 261 million euros more than estimated. Specifically, for the seven-month period, net revenues came to 25.811 billion euros, with the finance ministry expecting 25.550 billion. The 261 million euros cushion will be very helpful in the upcoming months when income tax payments, single property tax (ENFIA) payments and the new VAT revenues start showing up.
