Updated - Adds Finance Ministry explanation for increase in debt serving costs
The government's Financial Estimates, published with the Budget speech yesterday, throw up a few surprises, big and small.
For example, the government is next year expected to recover the €52 million loan made to Air Malta this year, along with interest of €6.2 million. Interest of €2.15 million is also expected from the loans made to Greece in terms of the bailout.
On the other end of the scale, the revenue projections show an expected income of €10,000 from birth registration fees, income which did not previously appear.
And with the advent of divorce, the government might be expecting quite a number of re-marriages - revenue from marriage registration fees is projected to double to €200,000.
Revenue from TV licences will drop to €2.5 million from €4m this year. The licence will be abolished next year, but those in arrears still have to pay up.
Registration and micro-chipping of dogs will yield a revenue of €90,000. Revenue from the sale of number plates will go up to €1.4 million from €1.3 million this year.
The government is expecting revenue from the EU's External Borders Fund to rise to €10.3 million from €6.3 million this year and €4.1 million last year but money from the Structural Fund will drop to €111.1 million from €128.8 million this year. Funds from the EU Agriculture Fund for Rural Development will drop by almost half to €3.6m.
The Estimates speak of a National Security Accreditation Authority, which is to be granted €180,000 from the funds of the Office of the Prime Minister.
The Electoral Office, which exceeded its spending projections this year because of the Divorce referendum, sees funding for recurrent expenditure rise to €3.6 million next year from €2.2 million this year. The Office is now about to start the actual renewal of ID cards after years of preparation.
Funding for capital expenditure by Heritage Malta is being slashed to €600,000 from €1.4m this year, with the allocation for the restoration f Fort St Angelo falling by €700,000 to €300,000. However there is an allocation of €100,000 to the Superintendence of National Heritage for restoration works. There is also a €700,000 allocation for a Carnival Village.
The estimates for the Transport Ministry show an expected increase in revenue from vehicle registration tax to 51.3 million from €40 million this year. The Budget speech included an announcement that the registration fees on newly imported second-hand vehicles with emission standards of between Euro I and Euro III will be raised.
The cost for the public service obligation contract on public transport will rise to €8.2 million from €7 million this year. The minister, Austin Gatt, said recently that the subsidy has to rise in view of the increased number of bus routes.
Among the steepest increased in funding under the Education vote, is an allocation of €3.45 million for capital expenditure by the University (from €1.1 million this year.
The increased duties on tobacco products means that the Finance Ministry is projecting revenue from machine-made cigarettes to rise to €73.6 million from €69 million this year.
Revenue from duties on petroleum products will rise to €111.4 million from €106.2 million this year.
Debt servicing costs are next year expected to reach a staggering €751.8 million, a jump from €404 million this year. The lion's share of that debt is local - costing €741 million in debt servicing costs next year. A spokesman for the Finance Ministry said the sharp increase in debt servicing resulted from a roll-over of local stock.
The Estimates also show that long-standing plans to build a new Blood Bank (near Mt Carmel Hospital) have been shelved. Funding for the new bank have been reduced to €500,0000, a quarter of this year's allocation. In contrast, €200,000 have been allocated for the refurbishment of the existing blood bank from €50,000 this year.