Budget surplus falls 23pc

23 June 2004

MADRID – Spain’s budget surplus has fallen by 23.4 percent to EUR 4,085 billion, the finance and economics ministry said Wednesday.

The figure relates to the first five months of the year between January and May 2004, compared with the same period in 2003.

The surplus represents 0.52 percent of Spanish output.

The decline in the surplus was attributed to a 65.7 percent increase in tax rebates from the January-May period of 2003.

Spanish taxes are collected from payrolls, with any excess payments returned after tax forms have been filed.
  
[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news