Rabat – Good news for Morocco’s General Treasury (TGR), whose deficit saw a significant decrease in the first months of 2017, states the TGR in its latest monthly government finance statistics bulletin.
The Treasury’s expenses and resources reveals a budget deficit of MAD 4.4 billion in the first quarter of 2017, compared to a deficit of MAD 14.9 billion a year earlier.
This is due to a 9 percent increase in ordinary revenues to MAD 59 billion at the end of March and a 0.5 percent decrease in general budget spending which is established at MAD 85.8 billion, explains the newly released TGR monthly government finance statistics bulletin (BSFP) of March 2017.
The treasury reports in its bulletin that the increase in ordinary income was due to a 14.1 percent increase in direct taxes, 6.8 percent in indirect taxes, 0.8 percent in registration and stamp duties and a 15.9 percent increase in non-tax revenues, combined with a 13.9 percent drop in customs duties.
As for general budget expenditure, the decrease is attributable to the 11.8 percent decrease in the cost of budgeted debt, mitigated by a 2.5 percent increase in operating expenditure and 3.7 percent investment, notes the TGR.
The decline in the cost of the budgeted debt is due to a 14.1 percent decrease in principal repayments, with MAD 11 billion versus MAD 12.8 billion a year before, and a 7.7 percent drop in debt interest with MAD 6.6 billion compared to MAD 7.2 billion last year, the same source said.
The evolution of the expenditure structure of the general budget between the end of March 2016 and the end of March 2017 shows a 35.7 percent decrease in the share of staff costs, 24 percent in equipment and 8.8 percent on debt interest, combined with a 28.2 percent increase in the share of investment spending and 3.2 percent in offsetting emissions, the bulletin said.
As for income from the special accounts of the Treasury (CST), it reached MAD 26.1 billion, taking into account transfers received from the common expenses of the general budget of investment for MAD 10.6 billion and the receipt of MAD 213 million for donations from the Gulf countries.
With regard to the expenditure of the TSAs, they stood at MAD 15.1 billion, MAD 10.5 billion of which is for special trust accounts (CAS), the TGR noted.
On the other hand, revenues from autonomously managed public services (SEGMA) increased by 0.2 percent to MAD 505 billion against MAD 504 billion at the end of March 2016, the bulletin reports, noting that “in Q1FY17, expenditures stood at MAD 203 million compared to MAD 87 million a year earlier.”
