This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41345631
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Government borrowing at lowest August level for 10 years | Government borrowing at lowest August level for 10 years |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Bumper VAT receipts helped government borrowing to fall to its lowest level in August since 2007, according to official figures. | Bumper VAT receipts helped government borrowing to fall to its lowest level in August since 2007, according to official figures. |
| The deficit narrowed to £5.7bn last month, compared with £7bn a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. | The deficit narrowed to £5.7bn last month, compared with £7bn a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. |
| VAT receipts rose 5.6% from last year to £11.6bn, a record for August. | VAT receipts rose 5.6% from last year to £11.6bn, a record for August. |
| For the financial year to date, the government has borrowed £28.3bn, down £0.2bn from the same point last year. | For the financial year to date, the government has borrowed £28.3bn, down £0.2bn from the same point last year. |
| The ONS said public sector net debt - excluding public sector banks - stood at £1.77 trillion at the end of August, equivalent to 88% of gross domestic product. | |
| The deficit for August was lower than analysts had forecast and follows a £0.2bn surplus in July, which was the first such surplus for that month since 2002. | |
| However, Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said the improvement in August's deficit reflected government spending cuts, rather than a strong economy. | |
| He said borrowing for the current financial year "appears to be on track to come in at about £50bn, clearly below the OBR's [Office for Budget Responsibility] March forecast". | |
| At the Budget in March, the OBR had forecast borrowing for 2017-18 would be just over £58bn. |