U.K. Posts Record August Deficit as Tax Revenue Falls: Economy
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Britain posted its biggest August budget deficit on record, heaping pressure on Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne as the recession hits tax revenue and pushes up spending on welfare.
The shortfall excluding government support for banks was 14.4 billion pounds ($23.5 billion), the Office for National Statistics said in London today. The median of 21 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey was for a deficit of 15 billion pounds. Tax revenue rose 1.8 percent in August from a year earlier and government spending climbed 2.5 percent.