LONDON: Britain’s borrowing bill shrunk by more than a third on a monthly measure as the government earned its biggest income tax receipts for February since 2008.
The Government raised £4.2bn in self-assessed income tax for the last month, helping borrowing fall by £3.5bn to £6.9bn from the same period last year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Economists had expected borrowing to come in at £8.4bn.
The improved figures mean the government borrowed £81.8bn over the first 11 months of the financial year to bridge the gap between revenues and spending. This is down by £9.7bn during the corresponding period in 2013/14, helping the Chancellor meet his target to get Britain’s public finances back into the black.
