December 28 (SeeNews) - Romania's consolidated budget showed a deficit equivalent to 0.73% of the projected 2016 GDP in the first eleven months of the year, according to finance ministry data.
The consolidated budget deficit totalled 5.5 billion lei ($1.26 billion/1.21 billion euro) in the January-November period, as revenue fell 1.9% on the year to 205.6 billion lei, while spending rose 3.3% to 211.1 billion lei, the finance ministry said on Tuesday.
In the like period a year earlier, Romania's consolidated budget showed a surplus of 5.3 billion lei, equivalent to 0.76% of GDP.
In the January-November period of 2016, revenues from income tax increased 10.5%, proceeds from excise duties climbed 5%, and social security contributions grew 7.3%.
On the other hand, VAT revenue decreased by 9.2%, reflecting a VAT cut from 24% to 20% in effect from January 2016 and a reduction of VAT to 9% for some food items, in effect from June 2015.
Investments in the eleven-month period decreased to 21.7 billion lei, or 2.9% of GDP. By comparison, in the first eleven months of 2015 investments amounted to 26.2 billion lei, or 3.7% of GDP.
For the January-October period, Romania posted a budget deficit equivalent to 0.17% of GDP.
Romania targets a consolidated budget gap of 2.95% of GDP on a cash basis in 2016, below the 3% EU ceiling.
The country's consolidated budget showed a deficit of 1.47% of GDP last year, below the 1.85% limit set in the fiscal strategy for that year.
(1 euro=4.5363 lei)