November 28 (SeeNews) - Romania's consolidated budget showed a ten-month deficit equivalent to 0.17% of the projected GDP, the finance ministry said on Monday.
Romania's consolidated budget deficit totalled 1.3 billion lei ($305 million/288 million euro) in the January-October period, as revenue fell 2.1% on the year to 187.6 billion lei, while spending rose 3.4% to 188.8 billion lei, finance ministry data showed.
In the like period a year earlier, Romania's consolidated budget showed a surplus of 9.04 billion lei, equivalent to 1.28% of its GDP.
In the January-October period of 2016, revenues from income tax increased 11.2%, proceeds from excise duties climbed 5.6%, and social security contributions grew 7.3%.
On the other hand, VAT revenue decreased by 8.8%, reflecting a VAT cut from 24% to 20% in January 2016 and a reduction to 9% for some food items, in effect from June 2015.
Investments in the ten-month period totalled 19.3 billion lei, or 2.5% of GDP. By comparison, in the first ten months of 2015 investments amounted to 22.7 billion lei, or 3.2% of GDP.
For the January-September period, Romania's posted a budget deficit equivalent to 0.49% 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 for 2015 showed a deficit of 1.47% of GDP, below the 1.85% limit set in the fiscal strategy for that year.
(1 euro=4.5147 lei)