Bulgaria's budget deficit shrank by 46% on an annual basis to BGN 750.5 million in the first two months of 2011, Finance Ministry data shows.
In February alone, Bulgaria ran up a budget shortfall of BGN 273.2 million.
The contraction was attributed to the higher receipts from value-added tax (VAT), which grew by 21.1% year-on-year to BGN 1.4 billion for January to February. Excise receipts and direct taxes remained almost unchanged versus the same period of 2010.
Non-tax revenues and benefits rose by BGN 55.3 million on the year thanks to an increase in EU grants and strong absorption of state tax revenue. /Source: Dnevnik/