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GreekReporter.comGreek NewsEconomyGreece's 2013 Budget Surplus 3.38bn Euros

Greece's 2013 Budget Surplus 3.38bn Euros

euros_2146219bGreece’s primary budget surplus for 2013 was 3.38 billion euros ($4.46 billion) the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) reported, a result opening the door for the country to seek debt relief from its international lenders.
Greece has been relying on two bailouts of 240 billion euros ($330.7 billion) from the Troika of the European Union-International Monetary Fund-European Central Bank (EU-IMF-ECB) since 2010 but the government wants to change the terms of repayment and has reportedly said it wants forgiveness on some of the debt.
But before asking for any change the government had to show that the economy, now in the seventh year of a deep recession, had recovered enough to warrant relief or restructuring of the debt.
About 80 percent of the country’s 310 billion euro ($430 billion) debt is owed to the public lenders.
The data will be forwarded to the European Union’s statistical agency ELSTAT, which is due to confirm it on April 23, triggering Greece’s ability to try to revise repayment terms.
Technically, however, the real primary surplus is 1.4 billion euros, under accounting principles set by the Troika. While the general budget for 2013 had a deficit of 15.89 billion euros, that included 19.21 billion euros given to banks in recapitalization.
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said he intended to return 70 percent of the primary surplus to the military and emergency personnel, as well as low-income pensioners who’ve seen their benefits slashed under austerity measures he imposed on orders of the Troika, but that projection was cut in half under recent estimates.
Others affected by big pay cuts, tax hikes and slashed pensions will be left out. The so-called social dividend is to be given out just ahead of critical May elections for the European Parliament and municipal elections.
Samaras’ New Democracy Conservative has been trading places in polls with the major opposition Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA), which has led in most of the surveys and whose leader, Alexis Tsipras, has predicted a big win next month.
Alternate Finance Minister Christos Staikouras said that figures formally confirmed “the estimates and the forecasts of the government for a primary surplus in 2013.”
Officials said they now expect a series of primary surpluses, which doesn’t include interest on debt, costs for municipalities and state enterprises, social security and some military expenditures.
Staikouras added that what the country needs now is “the further enriching of the economic policy with actions and initiatives toward growth.”
Budget revenues exceeded expenditure by 1.56 billion euros for the first quarter of this year, against a target for 878 million euros, Finance Ministry data showed on April 14.
This was despite a revenue shortfall amounting to 720 million euros, which is mostly attributed to a 364-million euro increase in tax rebates, and the May extension granted for the payment of corporate taxes totaling 250 million euros.
Budget net revenues added up to 10.6 billion euros in the year to end-March, missing their target by about 6.3 percent, the data revealed.

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