GEORGE TOWN, Nov 29 — Penang today tabled a RM962.19 million budget for 2014 with a deficit of RM255.44 million.

The budget for 2014 is 15.15 per cent lower than this year’s budget of RM1.13 billion.

It will be a deficit budget again as the expected revenue to be collected for 2014 is RM587.753 million, a decrease of 17.05 per cent or RM120.769 million as compared to this year’s revenue estimates of RM708.52 million.

This is not the first time the state has tabled a deficit budget as it had announced deficit budgets consecutively since 2011.

In 2011, Penang tabled a deficit budget of RM107.78 million and in 2012, a deficit budget of RM213.71 million.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the deficit would be funded by the state’s accumulated savings of RM825.28 million at the end of 2012.

“For 2012, despite tabling a deficit budget, we recorded a surplus of RM114.47 million which boosted the state’s accumulated savings to RM825.28 million by December 31, 2012,” he said during his speech on the state budget.

“This year, we will also be recording a surplus as we continue to record a surplus every year from 2008 to 2012,” he added.

The reduction in the budget for 2014 was due to a decrease in management expenditure from RM970.56 million this year to RM843.20 next year.

The reduction to the estimated management expenditure was brought about by a reduction of allocation to the Penang Development Corporation under the affordable housing scheme from RM306 million in 2013 to RM188.9 million next year and also a reduction of the contribution to the state development found from RM200 million this year to RM120 million next year.

Contributions to the state social welfare programmes for the poor, the elderly, students, women and youth, aid to schools and religious schools, the state’s housing assistance programme and its various welfare programmes have been increased from RM75 million in 2013 to RM111.47 million.