LONDON (Reuters) -Britain’s government borrowed less than expected last month, according to official figures from the Office for National Statistics which also revised down the size of the budget deficit in previous months.
Public sector net borrowing, excluding state banks, totalled 16.848 billion pounds ($22.71 billion) in December, the ONS said, less than the average forecast of 18.5 billion pounds in a Reuters poll of economists.
In the 2021/22 financial year so far, spanning April through December, Britain has borrowed 146.8 billion pounds, some 129.3 billion pounds less than at the same point in the 2020/21 financial year when the COVID-19 crisis was at its most intense.
This included a 6 billion-pound downward revision to borrowing up until November, the ONS said.
Corporate tax revenues hit a all-time high of 5.5 billion pounds in December, the figures showed – with the caveat that it reflected large companies paying tax bills quarterly and that the record is in current prices.
“Risks to the public finances, including from inflation, make it even more important that we avoid burdening future generations with high debt repayments,” finance minister Rishi Sunak said.
“Our fiscal rules mean we will reduce our debt burden while continuing to invest in the future of the UK.”
($1 = 0.7420 pounds)
(Reporting by Andy BruceEditing by William Schomberg)
