BUDGET EXECUTION ON AUGUST 31st 2009: Employee expenditures, up 10.8% over 2008

Employee expenditures, for the first eight months of the year increased 10.8% over last year"s similar period, according to the execution of the general consolidated budget on August 31st, 2009.

The Ministry of Public Finances announced a slowdown in the increase of employee expenditures over the previous months. Compared to last year"s budget, employee expenditures increased 2.9% y/y in the first eight months of 2009. Employee expenditures increased 15.3% in the case of local budgets and 15% in the case of fully self-funded institutions.

• Expenses of the consolidated general budget, up 8,3%

"The expenses of the general consolidated budget amounted to 125.6 billion lei on August 31st 2009, up 8.3% y/y", the budget execution says.

Interest expenses increased 53.9% y/y, according to the budget execution. Welfare expenses also increased by 8.3 billion lei due to the increase of the pension point, on October 2008 and due to the introduction of the minimum guaranteed pension in April 2009.

Goods and services expenditures dropped 0.9% y/y.

• Public Investments: 20 billion lei

The government invested 20 billion lei in the first eight months of the year, (ed. note: around 5 billion Euros), or 4% of the GDP, which includes capital expenditures and other investment programs funded from domestic and external sources.

In the first seven months of the year, investment expenditures, which also include capital expenses, as well as other transfers for investments, amounted to 16.9 billion lei (around 4 billion Euros).

• A budget deficit of 4.5% of the GDP

The general consolidated budget for the first eight months of 2009, posted an estimated deficit of 22.3 billion lei, or 4.5% of the GDP.

Revenues of the consolidated general budget stood at on 103.3 billion lei on August 31st, 2009, down 6.6% y/y.

Income taxes increased 5.5% over last year"s similar period, and earnings taxes dropped 15.2%.

Earnings from goods and services taxes amounted to 944.5 million lei, up 10.9% y/y, whereas VAT revenues dropped 5,537.4 million lei (-19.9%.)

Social security payments increased slightly (+0.9%), whereas non-tax revenues dropped 13.6% y/y.