LONDON (Reuters) -Britain’s government ran an unexpected budget surplus of 5.4 billion pounds ($6.49 billion) in January, reflecting strong income tax receipts, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed on Tuesday.
A Reuters poll of economists had pointed to public sector net borrowing, excluding state-owned banks, of 7.85 billion pounds for January.
The Office for National Statistics reported self-assessment income tax receipts of 21.9 billion pounds, the highest January figure since monthly records began and 5.5 billion pounds more than last year.
The figures, which are not adjusted for inflation, showed the tax receipts were offset by 6.7 billion pounds of interest payable on index-linked government bonds, the highest January total on record.
“Getting debt down will require some tough choices, but it is crucial to reduce the amount spent on debt interest so we can protect our public services,” finance minister Jeremy Hunt said in response to the data.
The government spent more than 10 billion pounds on its energy support for households in January, while it also paid 2.3 billion pounds to the European Union to settle a dispute over customs duties.
($1 = 0.8317 pounds)
(Reporting by Andy Bruce and Sachin Ravikumar; editing by Sarah Young)
