eKathimerini — The primary budget surplus of the year’s first 11 months climbed to 7.4 billion euros, due to the overperformance of revenues and the containment of expenditure, according to figures released on Thursday by the Finance Ministry.
The surplus recorded is 3.8 billion euros higher than the lender’s target for the year to end-November and unless something unexpected happens on the spending side by the end of the fiscal year, it will exceed 1 percent of gross domestic product.
It appears the lenders underestimated the revenues from tax collection and demanded excessive taxation.
Taxpayers paid 144 million euros more in income tax, corporate tax fetched 423 million more and increased duties brought in an additional 133 million euros.
Government spending was 1.29 billion below budget.
