The Colombian government posted a consolidated fiscal surplus in the first half of the year equivalent to 2.6% of gross domestic product, the Finance Ministry said Thursday in a statement.
In the same period last year, the government posted a fiscal deficit equivalent to 0.1% of GDP. The consolidated fiscal figures include regional governments as well as state-run companies.
The Finance Ministry’s 2011 Mid-Year Fiscal Plan called for a consolidated fiscal deficit equal to 2.2% of GDP. Colombia’s consolidated fiscal deficit in 2010 stood at 3.2% of GDP.
Congress approved three laws this year that seek to lower the deficit and allow the government to save excess revenue from its booming oil and mining industries in an overseas sovereign fund.
The government’s tax intake through the first half was more than initial estimates as a result of higher economic growth.