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The general government financial accounts published by Eurostat cover transactions in financial assets and liabilities as well as the stock of financial assets and liabilities. 

‘Other accounts receivable’ are assets representing the timing difference between the recording of most transactions in the non-financial accounts and the corresponding payment. This asset category is recorded in the financial accounts, for example, when governments make advances on future expenditure or accrue revenue while the corresponding payment occurs at a later stage.

In the third quarter of 2024, net transactions in other accounts receivable amounted to -€26 billion in the EU, compared to -€8 billion in the same quarter of the preceding year. In the available time series in the EU, the largest decline in other accounts receivable due to transactions occurred in the first quarter of 2024 (-€77 billion). The largest increase in other accounts receivable due to transactions occurred in the second quarter of 2020 (+€121 billion), influenced by deferral of tax payment deadlines. 

At the end of the third quarter of 2024, the stock of other accounts receivable in the EU stood at €1 156 billion, or 17% of total financial assets held by EU general governments.

This information comes from data on quarterly government finance published by Eurostat today. The article presents a handful of findings from the more detailed Statistics Explained article. 

Transactions in other accounts receivable in the EU, Q1 2018-Q3 2024. Line chart - Click below to see full dataset

Source dataset: gov_10q_ggfa 

For more information

 

Methodological notes

  • For general governments, a major part of transactions in other accounts receivable are related to taxes and social contributions accrued and the payment/settlement takes place later. Payment schedules for a number of major taxes, such as corporate income taxes and settlements of tax assessments for personal income taxes, have a seasonal pattern that differs from the time when the revenue accrues. For this reason, other accounts receivable of general government at EU level also show a distinct seasonal pattern. In the second and fourth quarters of each year, there is generally a net increase in other accounts receivable at the level of the EU, while in the first and third quarters there is generally a net decrease. 
  • One noticeable deviation from the normal seasonal pattern of other accounts receivable occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was mainly caused by the introduction of schemes that allowed for the deferral of taxes and social contributions payments. Such deferral schemes were part of the policy responses that nearly all EU countries introduced to mitigate the economic and social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The extension of payment deadlines helped to create liquidity for taxpayers. In government finance statistics, revenue from taxes and social contributions was accruing while final settlement took longer than usual, resulting in an increase in other accounts receivable. In the period after the pandemic, the payments related to tax deferral schemes resulted in a reduction of other accounts receivable.

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