UK Set to Undershoot Borrowing Forecast Despite Energy Costs
- Deficit £29 billion below estimate with year almost over
- Buoyant tax revenue is helping to offset energy support costs
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Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt is on track to undershoot his borrowing forecast this year after official figures left him with £28.8 billion ($35.3 billion) of headroom with just one month to go.
Despite a record deficit in February due to the cost of subsidizing energy bills, record self-assessed income tax receipts for the first two months of the year and past revisions left borrowing in the fiscal year to date at £123.6 billion, the Office for National Statistics said Tuesday. That compares with £116.8 billion a year earlier.