The budget deficit widened at the end of February 2022 and in comparison with the same period of 2021, according to figures published by the General Treasury of the Kingdom (TGR).
Indeed, “on the basis of revenue collected and expenditure issued, the situation of Treasury expenses and resources shows a budget deficit of 11.5 billion dirhams (MMDH) at the end of February 2022 once morest a budget deficit of 10.2 billion dirhams a year ago,” the General Treasury recently announced.
In its monthly bulletin of public finance statistics (BMSFP) for the month of February 2022, the TGR specifies that this deficit takes into account a positive balance of 13.6 billion dirhams generated by the special accounts of the Treasury (CST) and the services of the State managed autonomously (SEGMA).
According to data collected by the TGR, gross ordinary revenue (excluding tax refunds, reliefs and refunds) increased by 7.2% equivalent to +2.6 billion dirhams, thus standing at 38. 8 billion dirhams once morest 36.2 billion dirhams at the end of February 2021.
In its statistics bulletin, the Treasury attributes this improvement to “the increase in direct taxes by 3.1%, customs duties by 13.8%, indirect taxes by 14.2% and registration fees and stamp duty of 9%, combined with the drop in non-tax revenue of 20.8%”.
The same document specifies that gross tax revenue stood at 36.6 billion dirhams once morest 33.4 billion dirhams at the end of February 2021, an increase of 9.6% equivalent to +3.2 billion dirhams, thanks to the increase in customs revenue of 17.2% and domestic taxation of 4.7%.
Over the same period, non-tax revenue, on the other hand, fell by 20.8% (-586 MDH), to settle at 2,233 MDH once morest 2,819 MDH a year earlier.
According to the TGR, this decline is explained in particular by “the reduction in revenue from debt expenditure mitigation (269 MDH once morest 752 MDH) and the gas pipeline fee (-104 MDH), combined with the increase payments from special Treasury accounts for the benefit of the general budget (553 MDH once morest 302 MDH) and revenue from monopolies (814 MDH once morest 614 MDH)”.
Analyzing this time the evolution of expenditure issued under the General Budget, the General Treasury indicates that it reached 72.6 billion dirhams at the end of February 2022. This evolution (7.5% compared to their level at the end of February 2021) comes from “the 21% increase in operating expenditure, combined with the 2.5% decrease in investment expenditure and 15% in budgeted debt charges”, according to his explanations.
It should be noted that the 15% decrease in budgeted debt charges is explained by the 20.3% drop in principal repayments (8.6 billion dirhams once morest 10.8 billion dirhams) and 2.5% in debt interest (4,455 MDH once morest 4,570 MDH), as noted by the TGR in its bulletin.
Addressing the situation of expenditure commitments (including those not subject to prior commitment approval), the General Treasury notes that these amounted to 121.9 billion dirhams during the same period, representing an overall commitment rate of 22% once morest 23% at the end of February 2021. While the issue rate on commitments was 69% once morest 68% a year earlier, she continues.
With regard to the receipts of the special accounts of the Treasury, the figures collected show that they reached 25.2 billion dirhams, indicates the General Treasury. And to specify that they “take into account the payments received from the common investment charges of the general budget for 11.1 billion dirhams once morest 10.5 billion dirhams at the end of February 2021”. Expenses issued, for their part, were 11.8 billion dirhams.
In its statistics bulletin, the TGR specifies that they include the part of the CST in respect of reimbursements, reliefs and tax refunds for 485 MDH. And to note that the balance of all the special accounts of the Treasury amounts to 13.4 billion dirhams.
Finally, it emerges from the same bulletin that “revenue from autonomously managed State services was 206 MDH once morest 181 MDH at the end of February 2021, up 13.8%”. While the expenses were 16 MDH at the end of February 2022 once morest 5 MDH a year earlier, an increase of 220%, said the TGR.
Alain Bouithy
