Exchequer 'on course' to meet 2004 targets
The Exchequer figures for the first quarter to the end of March published today by the Department of Finance show that the Government had a surplus of €272m compared to an Exchequer deficit of €205m for the same quarter last year.
The current account balance for the first quarter showed a surplus of €942m compared to a surplus of €195m for the same period last year and a budgeted surplus of €2.98bn for 2004 as a whole.
The capital account balance showed a deficit of €670m compared to a deficit of €399m for the first quarter in 2003 and a budgeted deficit of €5.79bn for 2004 as a whole.
Commenting on the first quarter results Minister for Finance, Charlie McCreevy said: "The first quarter results suggest that we are on course to meet our public finance targets for 2004.
"However, it is too early to be definitive about the likely trend. This will depend on continued economic recovery and the actual evolution of certain tax heads," he warned.
McCreevy added: "On the expenditure side, at this stage there are no projected excesses or savings on the spending totals in the revised estimates and the Government remains fully committed to staying within its spending targets."
Tax receipts in the three months to March were €8.1bn. This was €317 better than anticipated , mainly because of higher than expected receipts from capital gains tax. Tax receipts are currently 15.2% ahead of the same period last year, compared with the 10.6% target gain.
Income tax and corporation tax receipts are slightly ahead of budget forecasts, but VAT and excise duties are slightly behind. Income from stamp duties is around 10% higher than projected.
Overall net voted spending was just over €7bn, €379m below the budget estimate and an increase of 4% on the same quarter last year.
The estimates provide for a 7% increase in spending for 2004 as a whole. Capital spending was lower than expected because of timing factors which the department say occur every year and have no significance for budgetary targets for the year as a whole.
