The deficit continued to soar in the first nine months of the year, reaching €282 million, according to figures out yesterday.

The National Statistics Office said the deficit in September was almost €100 million more than the financial imbalance in the same period last year.

A €99 million increase in revenue was offset by a rise in total expenditure of €193 million.

Revenue until September stood at €1.9 billion, up five per cent over last year. The increase was triggered mainly by higher proceeds from income tax (€77 million), miscellaneous receipts (€21 million), VAT (€16 million) and social security (€13 million).

These were partly outweighed by lower returns from Customs and excise duties (€30 million) and transfers from the Central Bank (€6 million).

Expenditure amounted to €2.2 billion, up by 10 per cent, as a result of higher spending across the board.

Recurrent expenditure grew by €125 million with the major increase recorded in programmes and initiatives, up by €97 million.

Public service wages also added €14 million to the Government’s expenditure.

Capital expenditure for the period amounted to €243 million, an increase of €60 million. This was mainly triggered by an equity injection of €20 million into Air Malta.

Public debt interest payments increased by €8 million while, at the end of September, debt stood at €4.7 billion.