UK finances show reduced January surplus of £4.7bn
21/02/2014
UK financial figures have shown that the January surplus for 2014 has decreased by around £1.3bn in comparison to the same period in 2013, as income from taxes and company profits fell.
Revenue exceeded expenditure by £4.7bn in January 2013, down from £6bn recorded in January 2013, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
As the government generally receives high volumes of income from tax in January, it is generally the biggest month of the UK tax year and a surplus is often recorded, whereas the government usually has to borrow money to cover its expenses in most other months.
The figures have raised some fears over the countries ability to reduce the overall deficit, which now stands at around £1.24tn, the equivalent of 74.6% of the UK’s total economic output. However, some statisticians have warned not to read in to the figures too much, as it’s possible that the reason revenue from tax fell is simply that people paid their taxes more promptly this year.
Howard Archer, an economist at HIS Global Insight in London commented that Chancellor George Osborne is still on track to meet government targets by stating: “The chancellor seems firmly on track to at least meet his downwardly revised fiscal targets.” He also went on to say, “the hope is that the trend will increasingly improve over the coming months as stronger economic and housing-market activity increasingly feeds through to boost tax revenues and help limit benefit payments.”
Need Advice?
If you need to ask a financial question then please contact one of our qualified financial advisers online or over the phone to get help with your query.
Share this..
Related stories
Gender pay gap in city is enormous
A report by the equality and human rights commission has blown wide open the massive gap in pay and bonuses between men and women in the financial sector. These startling figures indicate that the average male bonus in the sector is five times that of their female counterparts who earn up to 39% less overall. However the situation is far worse for those working within the "city".
Th...
UK earnings rising at slowest rate for 18 years
Figures released by the government today show that UK earnings are rising at the slowest rate for 18 years. This points to a worsening economic situation in the UK with salary payments for the three month period ended January 2009 rising by just 1.8%. Even though the UK recession does not appear to have hit the bottom as yet this is the slowest rise in earnings since the 1991 recession and well do...
Read MoreEDF is latest Energy Company to hike Prices
EDF Energy has become the latest in a long line of providers to hike their energy prices, after moves by British Gas, SSE, Scottish Power and npower to do the same in the past month. There seems to be little doubt that energy companies have used one another as an excuse to up prices, and have found safety in numbers, leaving consumers with nowhere to turn. EDF say that there are around 1 mi...
Read MoreHow Many Hours Do You Work for a New TV?
There are probably not one or two ideas that will bring large savings on expenditure but by a combination of smaller cash saving ideas where significant overall savings can be made on month by month expenses.
One excellent way to avoid unnecessary spending is to carefully consider each expense before taking the plunge. Often people will just consider how much they "need" a plasma T...
'D for Debt Day' set to be Monday 14th January
The days of strong arm tactics to collect debts may be drawing to a close as creditors seek new ways to get paid out. While the number of orders for assets to be sold, or County Court Judgements fell by over 20% in 2011, the number of applications for debtor’s earnings to be docked at source rose by 15%, to over 60,000. The Debt Advice Foundation charity has designated January 14th as “D fo...
Read More