Bulgaria’s Finance Ministry has recorded a consolidated Budget surplus of BGN 422.5 million in the first month of the year, or 0.2 per cent of this year’s estimated gross domestic product, exceeding the ministry’s forecast of BGN 400 million issued last month.
That was a small decrease compared to the same period of 2023, when Bulgaria recorded a Budget surplus of BGN 470.6 million. For February, the ministry forecast a Budget surplus of one billion BGN at the end of the month.
Revenue in January was BGN 5.23 billion, up 7.6 per cent from BGN 4.87 billion recorded in the same period of last year. Tax revenues were BGN 4.46 billion, an increase of 11.9 per cent.
Budget spending was BGN 4.81 billion, up from BGN 4.4 billion in the same period of 2023, with the bulk of the increase going to higher pensions and other social spending.
The ministry said that there was a decline in the amount paid as subsidies, in particular the scheme to compensate non-household consumers for high electricity prices, compared to January 2023.