Panama deficit up 11% to $1.35 billion
PANAMA’S deficit rose 11 percent to $1.35 billion in 2016, reports Finance Minister Dulcidio De La Guardia.
The figure is 2.5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). The Law on Fiscal Social Responsibility allows the
country to have a maximum deficit of 3.5 percent of GDP.
Total nonfinancial public sector revenues totaled $11.5 billion, an 8 percent increase from 2015, while total expenses closed the year at $12.9 million, an 8.4 percent jump.
De La Guardia said one positive sign was that tax revenues increased 9.2 percent.
Investment expenditure was $3.9 billion, $309 million more than the previous year.
Of the total investments, 36 percent was financed with debt and the remaining 64 percent with current savings, De La Guardia said.
