Greek Budget Revenues Up More Than 3% in August
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By Stelios Bouras
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
ATHENS (Dow Jones)--Greece's budget revenues rose by more than 3% in August, compared with the same period a year earlier, rising for a second consecutive month, Deputy Finance Minister Pantelis Economou said Monday, but the country still lags income targets so far this year. "This increase is significant, steady and of a permanent nature," he said in a statement, without providing any further information.
With the country in its third year of recession, lagging revenue collections have consistently dogged Greece's efforts to narrow its budget gap and have remained short of targets so far this year.
According to the latest data, Greece's state budget deficit in the seven months to July widened 24.6% on the year to EUR15.51 billion, while net budget revenues fell 6.4%, and budget expenditures jumped 7.1%.
Economou warned that the government was ready to take action against companies and individuals not meeting their tax obligations, harming government efforts to put the economy back on a growth track.
His comments come days after restaurant and bar owners threatened not to pay a hike in value added tax in their sector that came into effect at the start of September.
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