According to data released yesterday by the Ministry of Finance «total government expenditure, which includes spending by the federal government and local governments amounted to AED 200.4 billion during the first half of this year against revenues earned 249.8 billion dirhams, reflecting the superiority of revenue over expenditure, where the surplus in the The UAE's consolidated government finances reached AED 49.42 billion during the first half of 2019, a growth of 35.4% compared to the same period in 2018.
On the expenditure side, government spending on goods and services took the largest share of AED 62.3 billion, followed by compensation of employees, or salaries of AED 54.4 billion, while social benefits came third with AED 37.7 billion.
The rest of the expenditure is distributed on subsidies, grants, interest, depreciation of fixed capital and other expenses.
On the income side of AED 249.8 billion, the financial statements showed that the tax item contributed AED 114.7 billion, while the rest came from other sources worth AED 132.7 billion, in addition to revenues from social contributions and grants.