The federal government’s budget deficit reached nearly $ 69 billion in September, after the first half of its current fiscal year. This shortfall is nearly $ 130 billion lower than that posted by the Treasury for the same period last year.
In its most recent edition of its Financial review, the finance ministry said the cumulative budget deficit from April to September was $ 68.6 billion, down from $ 198.1 billion in the same half a year earlier, which was marked by first months of the pandemic.
Friday’s report said the deficit reflects difficult economic conditions, including the impact of restrictions still in place and other temporary support to respond to the health crisis.
Program spending, excluding net actuarial losses, was $ 225 billion for the period April to September, which was about $ 83.9 billion, or 27.2%, down from spending. from 308.9 billion from the same period a year earlier.
The decline is mainly due to the drop in transfer payments paid to individuals, businesses and other administrations under the Economic Intervention Plan.
Year over year, emergency assistance payments to individuals fell 66.2%, or $ 26.4 billion, to nearly $ 13.5 billion, from a low of $ 13.5 billion. ‘about 39.9 billion a year earlier. Wage subsidy payments fell 61% to $ 17.2 billion from $ 44.1 billion last year for the April to September period.
The finance ministry said the $ 26.9 billion decline in wage subsidy payments was explained by the decline in the number of eligible employees and the average subsidy per employee.
Government revenues for the first six months of the fiscal year reached over $ 175.8 billion, an increase of $ 47 billion, or 36.5 percent, from $ 128.8 billion in the same period l last year, mainly thanks to an increase in tax revenues.
Debt charges soared to nearly $ 11.7 billion, up $ 1.3 million, or 12.5%, from the $ 10.4 billion recorded from April to September 2020. The Ministry of Finance Finance attributed this increase to higher adjustments to the value of real return bonds based on consumer price index inflation.