January tax receipts boost public finances

20 Feb 15
Public sector borrowing was £6bn lower over the first ten months of the financial year than the same period last year, the Office for National Statistics has said, following a £8.8bn surplus in January.

By Richard Johnstone | 20 February 2015

Public sector borrowing was £6bn lower over the first ten months of the financial year than the same period last year, the Office for National Statistics has said, following a £8.8bn surplus in January.

Today’s Public Sector Finances report revealed that the surplus in January – traditionally a key month for tax receipts – was £2.3bn higher than in 2014, due to a £2.7bn increase in total revenue, including £1.7bn more in self-assessment tax payments.

Overall, there was a £4.4bn fall in central government net borrowing, although that was partly offset by an extra £2.1bn in borrowing from the Bank of England.

This means that borrowing in 2014/15 so far, excluding the bailed-out banks, stands at £74bn, around £6bn less than in 2013/14. This puts the Treasury on track to meet the Office for Budget Responsibility’s borrowing forecast for the year, which at £91.3bn would be down £6bn year-on-year.

Responding to the figures, Chancellor George Osborne said the January surplus was the largest since the financial crisis, and the government was on track to meet its forecast to half the deficit as a proportion of GDP compared to 2009/10.

‘Coming in a week when we have seen the employment rate reach record highs while the inflation rate reached record lows, today’s good news is further proof that the government’s long-term economic plan is working,’ he added.

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