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Cyprus Records €552.9 Million Fiscal Surplus In First Five Months

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

June 30, 2026

Cyprus recorded a general government fiscal surplus of €552.9 million during the first five months of 2026, according to preliminary figures released by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat). Higher tax revenue and stronger social contributions helped offset continued growth in public spending.

Revenue Growth Outpaced Spending

The surplus for the January-to-May period amounted to 1.4% of gross domestic product, compared with €544.5 million, or 1.5% of GDP, in the corresponding period of 2025.

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Total government revenue increased by €282.5 million, or 4.8%, reaching €6.2 billion from €5.92 billion a year earlier.

Income Tax, VAT And Contributions Drive Gains

Taxes on income and wealth recorded the largest increase, rising by €115.2 million, or 8.4%, to €1.49 billion. Social contributions also posted solid growth, climbing by €102.2 million, or 5.2%, to €2.07 billion.

Revenue from taxes on production and imports rose by €93.1 million, or 4.9%, to €2.00 billion. Within that category, net VAT receipts increased by €138 million, or 11.0%, to €1.39 billion.

Additional support came from capital transfers, which rose to €38.8 million from €12.4 million, and from the sale of goods and services, which increased by €9.4 million to €433.2 million.

Those gains were partly offset by lower property income, which declined by €24.2 million to €68.5 million, and a €39.6 million fall in current transfers to €115.7 million.

Expenditure Continues To Expand

Government expenditure rose by €274.1 million, or 5.1%, to €5.65 billion, compared with €5.38 billion in the same period of 2025.

Intermediate consumption increased by €52 million to €590.3 million, while compensation of employees, including imputed social contributions and civil servants’ pensions, rose by €47.6 million to €1.64 billion.

Social benefits recorded the largest increase in absolute terms, climbing by €108.2 million, or 4.9%, to €2.31 billion. Interest payments also rose significantly, increasing by €32.3 million, or 15.7%, to €238.4 million.

Current transfers climbed by €70.5 million, or 19.6%, reaching €429.3 million.

Capital Spending Softens

Capital expenditure moved in the opposite direction, falling by €26.8 million, or 6.0%, to €418.7 million. Gross capital formation declined by €25.4 million to €327.7 million, while other capital expenditure edged down to €90.9 million. Subsidies also decreased, dropping by €9.6 million to €31.8 million.

Preliminary Data Carry Caveats

Cystat noted that the figures remain preliminary, with estimates used for several general government entities, particularly within the local government subsector, as complete data had not yet been submitted by the relevant authorities.

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Relay Shuts Down As Its Founder Returns To Google To Shape The Future Of Chrome

by News Editor

August 18, 2026

AI workflow automation startup Relay is shutting down, with founder and CEO Jacob Bank returning to Google as vice president of product for Chrome. Some other Relay employees are also joining Google’s Chrome team.

Relay launched in 2021 with ambitions to challenge automation platforms such as Zapier. Its platform helped businesses automate repetitive work, including document creation, copyediting and project management.

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According to Relay’s announcement, free users lost access on August 15, while paying customers will be able to use the service until September 14. The shutdown was first announced in July.

Relay Founder Returns To Google

Bank previously spent more than six years at Google. He joined the company in 2015 after Google acquired his scheduling startup Timeful, later working on products including Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Chat.

Now back at Google, Bank will lead Chrome’s product and developer relations teams. He said the role will focus on helping people use AI in Chrome while preserving their creativity and decision-making.

Bank described Chrome as a strong platform for working with AI agents and said he would share more about Google’s plans in the future.

Chrome Becomes A Bigger AI Platform

Bank’s return comes as Google continues expanding AI across its consumer products. Gemini is already integrated into Search and Chrome, where it can act as an in-browser assistant and support more agentic tasks.

The company’s AI push is also reaching a growing user base. Google recently said the Gemini app had surpassed 1 billion users.

For Relay, the shutdown marks the end of an attempt to build an AI-powered alternative to established workflow automation platforms. For Google, bringing Bank and members of his team into Chrome could strengthen its efforts to make AI agents a more central part of the browser experience.