Problems in Spain: Revenues Collapse, State Spends Nearly Twice as Much as Revenues Collected in First Half

It's hard to meet budget targets as promised to the bureaucrats in Brussels when revenues collapse and the State Spends Nearly Twice as Much as Revenues Collected in First Half.

Via Google translate (heavily modified by me) from El Confidencial:

The Spanish economy continues its adjustment process. But the results in terms of deficit reduction, remain meager. Very meager. To the extent that in the first half of the year-on-national accounts, government spending-which really is committed to spend but have not been paid, have grown by 17.6% over the same period of 2011 .

Or what is the same, the central government already has obligations amounting to 87.967 billion. The resources, however, only amounted to 44.879 billion (-4.1%), which means that during the first six months of the year the state has spent (or is obliged to spend) almost double what it has collected in revenues.

Debt service has become the second biggest problem in the budget (after unemployment benefits). In fact, interest payments of 12.239 billion euros, is already 23% more than the government pays public employees (9.953 billion euros). This does not mean, however, that the debt service is causing the budget shortfall. In fact, the primary deficit (excluding interest payments) amounted to 30.839 billion in just six months.

Rising unemployment has forced the state to make some additional contribution of 4,404 billion euros to the Public Employment Service (SPEE), while Social Security has received an additional 2.575 billion euros.

The central administration also had to make advance payments to the autonomous communities totaling 5.476 billion, and another 865 million have gone to local corporations. In total, 13.320 billion of additional costs upward bias the data deficit for the first of the year.

In any case, the underlying problem continues to be government revenue, strongly influenced by the deterioration of economic activity.

VAT receipts actually are falling at a rate of 8.6% on a comparable basis. Panelists expect the destruction of more than 300,000 jobs next year, 2% of the workforce. That is, ten times more than estimated as more likely the government.

The Spanish implosion continues and nothing can stop it.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
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