Hungaryʼs cash flow government deficit, excluding local councils, reached HUF 140.8 billion compared with HUF 226 billion a year ago, which brought the three-month deficit to HUF 125.8 billion at the end of March, down from HUF 536.7 billion a year ago, the National Economy Ministry said. The budget deficit was 16.5% of the HUF 761.6 billion target for the full year at the end of the first quarter.
The central budget ran a HUF 158.2 bln deficit in the first quarter, while the social insurance funds and separate state funds had surpluses of HUF 29.9 bln and HUF 2.5 bln, respectively. The ministry noted that the deficit was the smallest recorded in a first quarter for the past 15 years.
The ministry attributed the drop in the deficit to higher tax revenue, helped by efforts to whitewash the economy and cut down on tax evasion and “significantly lower” fiscal expenditures.
Tax revenues came in significantly higher than projected. Tax proceeds from the corporate tax was HUF 125 billion, HUF 46 billion more than a year ago. VAT revenues rose HUF 31 billon to HUF 715 billion at the end of the first quarter.
The government projects the deficit to reach 2% of the GDP.
