Greece confirms budget primary deficit of €8.199b in Jan-July

The Ministry of Finance announced that in the January-July 2020 period, Greece recorded a primary budget deficit of of €8.199 billion, against a surplus target of €1.166 billion.

The announcement reflects the impact of the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy.

The preliminary budget execution figures for the seven-month period showed a deficit of €2.086 billion in the general government balance. The primary result for the same seven-month period in 2019 was a surplus of €1.763 billion.

Net revenue totalled €23.106 billion, down 17.7% from budget targets, while the total budget revenues amounted to €25.940 billion, down by 14.7% from target.

Tax revenues totalled €22.678 billion, down 13.6% from target.

In a statement, Alternate Finance Minister Theodoros Skylakakis said that the drop in revenues from taxes in July (15%) is lower than the drop in the previous two months (June, 16.9% and May, 35.5%), when the repercussions of the lockdown registered. "July’s figures were negatively affected by the extension provided by the government to file annual tax returns and to pay the first instalment of tax due (to August 28)," he noted.

"The global pandemic will continue to have a significant impact on public revenues, through tourism and exports, until, at least, October-November 2020," Skylakakis concluded.