MATTERS OF FACT

Deficit wider than planned

he fiscal deficit for 2019 will be much larger than expected due to the decline in revenues and the contraction in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), said the Ministry of Finance. Revenues in the fourth quarter of this year will be 40 percent below the LL5,000 billion ($3.3 billion) projected in the budget, it said. Projected revenues for the 2020 draft budget will be revised and consequently all budget figures will be modified. The government was aiming to reduce the deficit-to-GDP