Jakarta. The government on Monday reported a 45.6 percent rise in state revenue in the first four months of the year to result in a more than Rp 100 trillion surplus in the state budget as the country begins to see signs of economic recovery with the Covid-19 pandemic fading away. 

State revenue totaled Rp 853.6 trillion from January through April, representing 46 percent of the targeted revenue of Rp 1,846.1 trillion for 2022.

“State revenue as of April 2022 grew by 45.9 percent year-on-year. The growth is remarkable because we also saw a 32.1 percent rise last month, meaning that we are gaining pace,” Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said at a news conference in Jakarta.

According to government data, tax revenues surged by 51.5 percent to Rp 567.7 trillion; income from excise and import duties rose by 37.7 percent to Rp 108.4 trillion, and non-tax revenues saw a 35 percent rise to Rp 177.4 trillion.

“The positive trend of state revenue will continue, supported by commodity prices, export and import activities, as well as recovery in household consumption. State revenue is expected to continue to grow as economic activities are returning to normal,” she added.

State spending has reached a total of Rp 750.5 trillion during the past four months, a slight increase of 3.8 percent on total spending in the same period of last year.

Central government spending totaled Rp 508 trillion while financial transfer to regional governments amounted to Rp 242.4 trillion. 

Sri Mulyani said government spending will grow significantly in the coming months due to an increase in fuel subsidy amid soaring oil prices and expenses in the social assistance programs. 

“The primary balance [of the state budget] was positive at Rp 220.9 trillion, a leap from last month’s Rp 94.7 trillion surplus. Please note that last year the primary balance suffered a Rp 36.5 trillion deficit,” she said. 

“Overall our state budget enjoys a surplus of Rp 103.1 trillion, compared to a deficit of Rp 138.2 trillion last year.”