YEREVAN, May 25, /ARKA/. Armenia’s first four months budget was performed with a 2.4 billion dram deficit, down from the projected 56.2 billion dram, the ministry of finance said in a report. According to official data, revenues grew by 9% year-on-year or by 21 billion drams to 254.8 billion drams as of late April 2011. Some 94.8% of the revenues were collected as taxes, state dues and mandatory payments.

Some 5.1% were reported as other revenues and 0.1% as official grants. Proceeds from public sector companies off-budget funds totaled 5.6 billion drams. Some 201.4 billion drams were collected as taxes and state dues, 64% of the projected amount for the first half of the year. According to the report, tax collection rose by 10.1% or 18.5 billion drams if compared to the first four months of 2010 due to improved VAT, income and profit taxes collection rate.

Expenditures were said to have grown by 5.8% percent year-on-year or 14.2 billion drams to 257.2 billion drams, 56.2% of the projected amount for the first half of the year. Some 236.3 billion drams were reported as current expenditures, 57.7% of the projected rate. Compared to the first four months of 2010 they rose by 5.6% or 12.6 billion drams. Of that amount 22.2 billion were channeled into payment of public sector salaries and 1.5 billion drams as mandatory social payments. These figures represented a 5.4% and 3.8%. rise form a year before respectively.

The government also released 10.9 billion drams to pay Armenia’s state debt – 8.2 billion drams were released for payment of foreign debt and 2.7 billion drams for payment of domestic debt.  -0-