Cairo – Decypha: The general budget deficit has increased by 1.66% in the first eight months of the current fiscal year, the deputy minister of finance for treasury affairs said.
Speaking at the preliminary launch of the new general budget, Mohamed Maait said that the deficit reached EGP 226.6 billion between July 2016 and February 2017, against EGP 222.9 billion in the same period the year before.
Total revenues reached EGP 310.5 billion during the eight-month period, including EGP 226.3 billion in tax revenues and EGP 83.7 billion in non-tax revenues.
Total expenses reached EGP 532.5 billion in the period ended February 2017, with EGP 183.6 billion in debt interest and EGP 113 billion in subsidies.
In its weekly meeting, the Cabinet approved the general budget and the government’s investment scheme for the fiscal year 2017/2018, in preparation to send it to Parliament for approval. Targeted revenues amount to EGP 830 million in the upcoming budget, up 27% from the previous year, according to a statement.
General expenses will increase 19.5% to EGP 1.2 trillion due to 38% higher financial investment allocations, reaching EGP 125.4 billion. Such investments will help boost economic activity and enhance infrastructure, according to the statement.
By: Mostafa Adel
Translated by: Nada Adel Sobhi
