Chancellor banks on big surplus in January from tax receipts as economists say full-year borrowing target 'difficult to achieve'
The Chancellor is banking on a massive tax receipts windfall in the New Year to meet his deficit target after official figures showed UK Government borrowing rose in November.
The gap between government revenues and spending, excluding public sector banks, widened to £14.2bn last month, up from £12.9bn a year earlier, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This represents the biggest November deficit since 2013.
While the Government's fiscal watchdog expects receipts from self-employed workers to rise in January, when data traditionally show a surplus, economists said meeting the full-year target now looked "extremely slim".
Borrowing in the first eight months of the fiscal year stood at £66.9bn, according to the ONS - just £2bn short of this year's total target of £68.9bn.
This raises the prospect that more austerity will be needed if George Osborne is to balance the books by the end of the decade.
Weak VAT receipts held revenues back in November, as did a 3.8pc jump in day-to-day spending by Government departments, the ONS data showed.
November's figures were also distorted by a £1bn drop in misconduct fines levied on Britain's banks over foreign exchange failings as well as a foreign aid payment to the World Bank.
In November, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the Government's fiscal watchdog, surprised analysts by revising down its deficit forecast for this fiscal year, despite it already being on track to miss its forecasts.
It also predicted a £27bn improvement in the public finances due to changes in the way it calculates VAT and national insurance contributions.
Lower debt interest payments and an announcement by the Bank of England that it would keep hold of its £375bn stockpile of asset purchases until interest rates climbed to 2pc also contributed to the improvement.
Source: George Osborne's deficit target in doubt as borrowing climbs in November - Telegraph
I am really tempted now to file my self assessment late and pay £100 fine just to wipe off smug on his face
The Chancellor is banking on a massive tax receipts windfall in the New Year to meet his deficit target after official figures showed UK Government borrowing rose in November.
The gap between government revenues and spending, excluding public sector banks, widened to £14.2bn last month, up from £12.9bn a year earlier, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This represents the biggest November deficit since 2013.
While the Government's fiscal watchdog expects receipts from self-employed workers to rise in January, when data traditionally show a surplus, economists said meeting the full-year target now looked "extremely slim".
Borrowing in the first eight months of the fiscal year stood at £66.9bn, according to the ONS - just £2bn short of this year's total target of £68.9bn.
This raises the prospect that more austerity will be needed if George Osborne is to balance the books by the end of the decade.
Weak VAT receipts held revenues back in November, as did a 3.8pc jump in day-to-day spending by Government departments, the ONS data showed.
November's figures were also distorted by a £1bn drop in misconduct fines levied on Britain's banks over foreign exchange failings as well as a foreign aid payment to the World Bank.
In November, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the Government's fiscal watchdog, surprised analysts by revising down its deficit forecast for this fiscal year, despite it already being on track to miss its forecasts.
It also predicted a £27bn improvement in the public finances due to changes in the way it calculates VAT and national insurance contributions.
Lower debt interest payments and an announcement by the Bank of England that it would keep hold of its £375bn stockpile of asset purchases until interest rates climbed to 2pc also contributed to the improvement.
Source: George Osborne's deficit target in doubt as borrowing climbs in November - Telegraph
I am really tempted now to file my self assessment late and pay £100 fine just to wipe off smug on his face
and wealthy money wizards will bugger off somewhere sunnier, safer without any limits on bonuses.
Or they can just print it up and pretend that's how an economy works. That's what you learn in PPE and evidently, Geography.
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