By T. Tsiros
[email protected]
Greece’s finance ministry on Monday said it had exceeded revenue targets by 386 million euros in the first five-month period of the year, with 15.755 billion euros flowing into state coffers, compared to a goal of 15.369 billion euros.
Nevertheless, 300 million euros out of the 386 million euros in excess of the target is a “lump sum” figure, emanating from the finalization of a concession deal transferring 14 state-run regional airports to the Fraport Greece consortium for 40 years.
It’s the remaining seven months of the year, however, that will prove to be the challenge for state revenue services, as 32.488 billion euros – ambitious by Greek standards – must flow into state coffers. The figure means that 4.641 billion euros, on average, must be collected on a monthly basis.
Moreover, with the recent passage of the Medium Term Fiscal Strategy (MTFS 2018-2021) by Parliament, the target in the 2017 budget has been revised upwards, meaning that the goal is now 48.243 billion euros in revenues for this year, up 46.858 billion euros – a difference of 1.385 billion euros.
