BusinessTuesday 04 March | 13:340 Comments
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Cyprus has recorded a surplus of €1.5 billion for 2024, equivalent to 4.5 per cent of GDP, according to preliminary results released on Tuesday by the state statistical service.
This marks a sharp increase from the €631.5 million surplus recorded in 2023, which accounted for 2 per cent of GDP.
Total government revenue for the year reached €14.83 billion, reflecting an increase of €1.07 billion, or 7.8 per cent, compared to 2023.
Among the key contributors, taxes on production and imports rose by €244.4 million to €4.68 billion, while net VAT revenue increased by €166.2 million to €3.14 billion.
Income and wealth taxes saw the most substantial rise, climbing by €545.2 million to €3.81 billion.
Revenue from the provision of services also surged by 28.1 per cent, reaching €1.09 billion, while social contributions increased by 2.7 per cent to €4.5 billion.
However, capital transfers recorded a notable decline of 38.4 per cent, falling to €220.4 million from €357.9 million in 2023.
Government expenditure for 2024 amounted to €13.32 billion, reflecting an increase of 1.5 per cent, or €197.4 million, compared to the previous year.
Compensation of employees, including salaries, social contributions, and pensions for public sector workers, rose by 7.5 per cent to €3.86 billion.
Social benefits also saw a significant rise of 7.4 per cent, reaching €5.3 billion.
Meanwhile, intermediate consumption costs increased by 15.8 per cent to €1.50 billion, and interest payments rose by 6.3 per cent to €433.9 million.
On the other hand, several expenditure categories experienced declines.
Subsidies dropped by 3.6 per cent to €153.4 million, while current transfers fell by 24.2 per cent to €887.7 million.
The capital account saw a substantial reduction of 24.5 per cent, with gross fixed capital formation marginally declining to €983 million and other capital transfers plummeting by 66.2 per cent to €193.5 million.
It is important to note that estimates were produced for the local government sector due to insufficient data from the authorities responsible for the district self-governing organisations in Famagusta and Paphos.
These estimates cover activities related to sewerage, water supply, licensing, and waste management.