TIRANA, August 05lbania’s consolidated budget deficit in the first half of the year totalled 31.6 billion Lek (242 million euro), data from Bank of Albania showed.
According to Ministry of Finance data, the country had a budget shortfall of 2.82 billion Lek in the first half of 2008, versus a 10.19 billion Lek surplus in the same period of 2007.
The 2009 budget deficit in the first half of the year was 10.6 billion Lek higher than the government’s target, BoA reported in a half-year report published on its website. The deficit was equivalent to 6.2% of the county’s projected gross domestic product (GDP), while in the same period a year ago the deficit was equivalent to 0.5% of GDP, the report said.
Budget revenue in the first half of 2009 fell seven percentage points short of the government projections, but was 7.2% higher on the year. However, lower revenue from Value Added Tax (VAT) has slowed down the growth in overall revenue performance, the report said. Revenue in the first half of the year was equivalent to 28.5% of GDP, compared to 28%a year ago.
Budget spending in the first half of 2009 rose by 28.4% to 176.3 billion Lek, equivalent to 34.7% of GDP, compared to 28.5%a year ago.
Albania’s budget balance (in billions of Lek):
Half-09 annual % change
Revenue 144.8 +7.2
Spending 176.3 +28.4
Balance -31.6 n/a
Albania ended 2008 with a budget gap of 57.5 billion Lek or 5.7% of GDP versus a shortfall of 34.1 billion Lek a year ago. The government targets a budget deficit equivalent to 4.2% of GDP this year.
