The Department of Finance and the Treasury have revealed that the final Budget outcome for the 2017-18 financial year recorded a cash deficit $19.3 billion less than anticipated.
Minister for Finance, Senator Mathias Cormann said that at $10.1 billion, the underlying cash deficit was the smallest in 10 years.
“Stronger economic growth and much stronger employment growth than anticipated at the time of the 2017-18 Budget have driven increases in personal income tax and company tax receipts, with total receipts $13.4 billion higher than expected,” Senator Cormann said.
“Total payments were $6.9 billion lower than forecast at Budget time as a result of lower welfare payments with more Australians in paid work,” he said.
“Welfare dependency for working age Australians is now at its lowest level in 25 years and in 2017-18, there were 90,000 fewer working age Australians on welfare.”
He said the economy had completed its 27th consecutive year of growth, with more than one million jobs having been created since 2013.
“Real GDP in 2017-18 was stronger than anticipated in the 2017-18 Budget. Nominal GDP grew by 4.7 per cent in 2017‑18, which was significantly stronger than the 2017-18 Budget forecast of four per cent,” the Minister said.
He said the final Budget outcome built on the release of the national accounts early last month, which showed that the economy grew 3.4 per cent through the year, the fastest rate of growth since the September quarter 2012 during the height of the mining investment boom.
The final Budget outcome can be found at this PS News link.
