Although central government expenditure increased by 8.5% to amount to €4,498.6 million, Gramegna explained that this was due to “high levels of investment in sustainable growth”, which increased by 11.7% compared to Q1 2017.
Direct taxes came in 6.9% higher than expected and income from local authority taxation increased by more than 4.1%. Revenues from wages and salaries increased by 7.7% and income from wealth tax increased by 23.3%.
The central administration's balance stands at €174 million for Q1 2018.