LONDON: Britain’s public finances improved leaving government borrowing down a third on a year earlier.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed tax receipts from self-assessment were £4.2bn, up £1.8bn.
January and February are the months when taxpayers who have not made full payments under PAYE make the bulk of their payments to the revenue. February’s government borrowing totalled £6.9bn, a fall of £3.5bn.
The government’s latest target to borrow £90.2bn in the current fiscal year looks likely but it has failed in its plans to eliminate the deficit by 2015.
Ratings agency Fitch warned it was unlikely to restore Britain’s top-notch credit rating until it saw proof government debt-to-GDP was falling steadily.
