Budget deficit held at 0.2% of GDP

State budget receipts in terms of the profit tax paid by companies amounted to more than one billion euros in the first eight months of the year, nearly equalling the amount for the whole of last year. The Finance Ministry attributes this increase in revenues to the unexpected levels of economic growth (6.6% for the first half of 2004), as well as to the doubling of tax on gross profits derived from exports from 12.5% to 25% on January 1, 2004. Export revenues nonetheless increased significantly by an amount of 20%, in relation to the first eight months of 2003. Profit tax-related revenues totalled 45,027bn ROL, 53.2% more than for the same period last year. The increased budgetary revenues were also fuelled by value added tax (VAT), since consumption rose 9% in the first half of the year, with VAT accounting for 105,298bn ROL in the budgetary revenues, 25% up on January-August 2003. Revenues from excises rose nearly 40%, to a total of 49,718bn ROL. This came as a result of an increase in the ROL/EUR exchange rate of 13.4% over the same period in 2003, as well as the increase in excises on various petroleum products, tobacco, ethyl alcohol and alcoholic beverages, and the enforcement of mandatory payment of excises on mineral oils before delivery. ZF