Bulgaria Projects 3% Budget Surplus for End-May 2016

Bulgaria’s consolidated budget is expected to show a surplus of BGN 2.68 B for end-May, equivalent to 3% of 2016 GDP projected by the Finance Ministry.

The forecast compares to a budget surplus of BGN 1.09 B reported for end-May 2015, equivalent to 1.3% of last year’s GDP, the Finance Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The ministry attributed the year-on-year increase in budget surplus for the first five months of 2016 to improved revenue collection and cuts in spending compared to the same period of 2015. The increase was also due to the postponement of a part of planned expenditures to future periods, the ministry addeа without giving details.

Revenues and grants under the consolidated budget are expected to total BGN 14.83 B as of end-May, which is 44.9% of 2016 plan.

The projected amount is higher by BGN 1.01 Bcompared to the year-ago figure due to an increase of BGN 1.25 B in tax and non-tax revenues. The receipts in terms of grants are projected to decrease by BGN 233 M compared with January-May 2015.

Spending under the consolidated budget, including Bulgaria’s contribution to the EU budget, is expected to decrease to BGN 12.15 B as of end-May , or 34.9% of 2016 plan, down from BGN 12.73 B a year ago.

The Finance Ministry will publish figures for revenue and spending under the consolidated budget for end-May 2016 at the end of June.

On Tuesday, the ministry reported a consolidated budget surplus of BGN 2.35 B for end-April, equivalent to 2.6% of the projected 2016 GDP.