Tax & Spend
UK Deficit Soars to Record as Inflation Boosts Debt Payments
- Inflation-linked debt pushes sharp rise in interest payments
- Energy subsidies for homes and businesses cost billions more
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The UK government sank deeper into debt in December as rising debt-interest payments and the cost of insulating consumers and businesses from the energy-price shock strained the public finances.
The budget deficit stood at £27.4 billion ($34 billion), a record for the month and almost triple the £10.7 billion shortfall a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics said Tuesday. Economists had forecast a reading of £17.3 billion.