Monday, July 4, 2011

04/07/2011: Exchequer balance: H1 2011

Exchequer results are in for June and in the previous two posts I discussed tax receipts (here) and overall distribution of taxation burden across various tax heads (here). In this post, I will be quickly covering Exchequer balance/deficit for H1 2011.

Overall tax and non-tax revenues came in at €16,744.6 million against €15,298 million in H1 2010 with both tax revenues and non-tax receipts on current side coming upside. However, total voted current account expenditure came in at €20,547 million in H1 2011, up on €19,655 million. This hardly amounts to 'austerity' working (more on expenditure analysis in the later blogpost).

Non-voted current expenditure came in at €3,375 billion, similar expenditures for 2010 over the same period were €3,071 million. Banking measures in H1 2011 accounted for €3,085 million against comparable period 2010 official (see below) figure of zero.

Overall, Exchequer deficit for H1 2011 stood at €10,828.5 million against 2010 figure of €8,887 million. Excluding banking measures H1 2011 deficit stood at €7,743, while excluding banking measures accumulated over 2010 and backed-out to June 2010, the ex-banks deficit for H1 2010 was around €7,590. Note - this imperfectly takes into account variable timing for deficit increases due to banks measures.

Here's the chart:
Again, I am not seeing any dramatic improvements here on 2010 performance.

It is worth noting - remember that department expenditure will be covered in the later post - that national debt interest and management expenses through H1 2011 have risen to €2,501 million from €2,231 million in H1 2010. Thus interest and debt management cost are currently running at 16.36% of total tax receipts.

Through H1 2011 we have borrowed €11,370 million from EFS, €7,178.5 million from IMF and €3,659.6 from EFSF, so total borrowings rose from €7,589.6 million in H1 2010 to €16,653 million in H1 2011. Of the money we borrowed (at more than 5.8% pa), €10,277.5 million is still held in deposits with Irish banks at, oh, maximum rate of ca 1.4-1.5% (see here) implying an annualized cost of this shambolic support for Irish banks to the Exchequer of ca €450 million - oh, about the amount of money the Government is clawing out of the pensions levy?..

1 comment:

Diarmuid O'Flynn said...

One thing above all others in this whole mess that truly baffles me - have been following your posts here, those of Namawinelake on his blog, and it all strikes as being perfectly reasonable and logical; why then is this government persisting on what appears to be a suicidal course? If we're to look 'outside the box' (I hate that term) can YOU see any possible explanation for what they're doing? Because other than craven submission to what they see as a more powerful force, I can't.