The state sector borrowing requirement for the month of February 2010 on a provisional basis was approximately 13,000 million, an improvement of around 1,000 million on the figure of 14,059 million recorded for the same month in 2009.
The first two months of 2010 saw a total requirement of approximately 8,800 million, 6,700 lower that the figure of 15,531 million for the same period in 2009.
Comment
The improvement in the balance for the month of February, when compared to the figure for the same month in 2009, is the result of a more moderate trend in public spending.
On the matter of revenue, tax revenue held up well overall, continuing January 2010's trend of reaping the benefits of tighter rules governing the offsetting of VAT via the application of the new procedures laid down by article 10 of Legislative Decree 78/2009, converted into Law 102/2009.