Romania recorded a budget surplus of RON 717 million (EUR 195 million) in January, the Ministry of Finance announced.

The surplus was 2.3 times smaller than that posted in January 2017 and was achieved under the circumstances of public expenditures being capped at the average monthly level in 2018 because the 2019 budget planning hasn't entered into force yet.

The revenues increased by 15.1% compared to last year, to RON 25.8 billion (EUR 5.52 bln), or 2.5% of the projected GDP for 2019. The growth came from 23.1% stronger VAT collection (26.9% of total budget revenues) and 38% higher revenues from excise taxes (11.3% of total budget revenues). The social security contributions soared by 32.3% and accounted for 35.1% of total budget revenues, up from 30.6% in January 2017.

The month’s expenditures rose by 22.7% compared to January 2017, to RON 25.1 billion (EUR 5.37 bln), driven by the social spending (up 27.9% compared to last year, 41.1% of total expenditures) and public payroll (23.5% higher than last year, 30.2% of total spending). Capital expenditures further shrank by 12.4% to an insignificant 0.9% of total government expenditures.

editor@romania-insider.com

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