Govt deficit down 7 per cent

Press, 8 March 1988, Page 5

Govt deficit down 7 per cent

PA 1 j Wellington The Goverr ment’s deficit before borrowing for the nine months to December ? 31,' 1987, dropped nearly 7 per cent to $3943.7 million compared to the previous year’s deficit, according to figures released yesterday.

When big project refinancing was included in net Government expenditure, the deficit before borrowing i was $4851.1 million, down 23.5 per cent on the nine months to the end of 1988, Total net I expenditure, excluding j big projects, was $18,994.3 I million ($15,759.5 million in 1986). | The total tax take was up 37.8 per dent to $14,062.5 million’, with business income (ax payments up 126 per| cent to $Bll million. Personal inpome tax take 'was up nine, per cent to' $7218.8 million. i The goods and services tax take ( was $2711.3 million. I ! The Minister of Finance, Mr Douglas, said that the Budget Table two figures showed | Government spending and

revenue were tracking t satisfactorily. f ‘‘At this point in the financial year, expendi- ; t ture jis tracking close to t expectations, although .j r there were, as usual, i variations within some de- {t partments from expected ! h expenditure levels,” Mr r Douglas said in a state- { c ment. c "The majority of these i s were issues relating to the j t timing of particular pay- I c ments or receipts. ! p “There were' no major , | items of over-expendi- !t; ture. l ” i j e Mr Douglas 1 repeated ’ i that; the track for net ! ti expenditure this year iii differed markedly from . s last year, due to the intro- { o duction of GST, and one- p off costs associated with a corporatisation.; c These policy changes . e meant direct comparison ; n between last year's and I y

this year’s expenditure figures was not valid. On the revenue side, total tax was very close to that anticipated for the nine months.

Collections of income tax were on target, with higher than expected cumulative revenue from individuals and other noncorporate sources being slightly more : than offset by lower than expected collections from companies.

| “Indirect and highways tax were a little ahead of expectations.”

i “The December outturn should, however, be interpreted carefully, since nearly 30 per cent of total tax and nearly 50 per cent of provisional and terminal tax is forecast to come to the Government in the last two months of the financial year.”